Mood Mountain
Learn to climb your own feelings.
What it is
Mood Mountain helps children build the skill of handling big feelings: notice what's happening, name it, choose a tool, recover, and repair. Kids drag a feeling onto a simple map to find the precise word for it, then practice calming tools like Mountain Breath. There are no wrong feelings and nothing to “lose” — just gentle, playful practice designed to carry over into real life. A calm guide models how regulation actually works, and grown-ups get their own coaching corner.
A look inside
What it builds
- Emotional vocabulary — naming feelings precisely ('name it to tame it')
- Self-regulation tools (breathing, reframing, redirecting)
- Recognizing the body cues that signal emotions
- Recovering after big feelings — and repairing with others
- Confidence that all feelings are okay
The research behind it
Emotional regulation is one of the most important — and most learnable — skills of childhood. Two findings anchor the app: naming a feeling lowers its intensity, and children first learn to regulate by borrowing a calm adult's calm.
Putting feelings into words ('affect labeling') reduces the intensity of the brain's emotional response.
Source: Lieberman et al. (2007), 'Putting Feelings Into Words,' Psychological Science
Children develop self-regulation through co-regulation — a calm, supportive adult — before they can do it alone.
Source: Murray et al. (2015), 'Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress,' U.S. Administration for Children & Families
Early emotional-regulation skills predict better social, academic, and mental-health outcomes.
Source: TODO(Chris): add preferred citation
Faith & formation
Big feelings have a safe place to go: God. Mood Mountain's optional faith layer gently invites kids to tell God exactly how they feel — turning a moment of overwhelm into a small, honest prayer.
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Scripture quotations are from the ESV.
Tips for parents
- Name your own feelings out loud — kids learn regulation by watching you.
- Connect before you correct: comfort first, teach second.
- Use the same feeling-words at home that the app uses, so the skill transfers.
- Keep sessions short; the goal is practice, not a quick fix.
Ready to try Mood Mountain?
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