What Makes Me Do the Things I Do?

Developing emotional intelligence in children

What Makes Me Do the Things I Do? is my latest children’s book in a series of picture books that aim to help children develop self-awareness and a better understanding of the world of emotions and relationships. As my previous books tend to focus on helping children to develop emotional intelligence and positive mental health, it made sense to write a book about behaviour next, as emotions, thoughts and behaviour are all, of course, linked.

My interest in the topics my books cover is the result of working for more than three decades in education in a variety of guises. I have worked as a mainstream primary teacher; a PSHE advisor; a teacher in a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) with children who struggle to self-regulate emotionally and behaviourally; a trainer; an educational resource writer; a director of a forest school, and provider of one-to-one support for children. Within my various roles, I have always had a very keen interest in children’s self- esteem development, emotion and behaviour regulation, and childhood trauma. This has led me to be a fan of nonauthoritarian approaches in ‘managing’ children’s behaviour. I feel that children’s behaviour is best addressed through conversation and overcoming difficulties together rather than telling children what to do and being surprised when they don’t!

What Makes Me Do the Things I Do? is in line with this approach as it explores several unhelpful behaviours that children often engage in and highlights the opposite, more helpful behaviour. It invites children to reflect upon what is helpful about some behaviours and why we might be tempted to do the less helpful behaviour. For example, one double-page spread looks firstly at why we sometimes give up, and secondly why it’s more useful to be determined. Another two pages explore why we might lose our temper, and why staying calm nearly always leads to things turning out better.

While the book can be read independently by young children, it’s also great for prompting discussions between children and the adults in their lives. It helps children (and the adults!) become more conscious about the choices they make. It also helps them to consider the impact their behaviour has on others, which in turn increases empathy. Sarah Jennings’ wonderful illustrations also provide even more detail to talk about! When I read the book to children, the conversations are often deep and highly reflective.

MOLLY POTTER Author of What Makes Me Do the Things I Do?

www.mollypotter.com