All the feels: We meet the maker of My Mood Stars

Wendy White grew up wanting to be Mary Poppins – “a ‘practically perfect’ kind and magical nanny that all children loved and obeyed!” – and she made that dream come true. Joining a nanny agency straight out of school, she embarked on a professional career that would span twenty years and feature twelve families, forty-eight children and three outstanding inspections from the UK government’s Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted).

Wendy also married, had three children of her own and, in her spare time, would sew little felt stars with faces for the youngsters she cared for. Those stars would reappear years later, once Wendy was retired and writing children’s books. She sent her designs to a manufacturer, fashioned an accompanying board to house them – and My Mood Stars were born.

These tactile toys come in timid, sad, angry, happy, sleepy, surprised, scared and silly varieties and are more than a cuddly companion. My Mood Stars are designed to support emotional wellbeing and expression, as they are currently doing for countless families across the globe.

“Children’s ability to recognise, embrace and communicate their feelings helps them to be more resilient and successful teens and adults,” says Wendy from her home in the English village of Haddenham. “It’s so key, today, for children to get into the habit of sharing their emotions with ease and confidence.”

Read on as Wendy shares why her creations have come to play a starring role in the childhood development space.

Where did the idea for My Mood Stars come from – and how did they develop into a tangible, now widespread resource?

The idea of My Mood Stars came from me wanting to support fellow childminders in finding affordable resources to implement personal, social and emotional development (PSED). When the early years foundation stage framework stated that childminders had to provide this area of learning, there were no available resources. So, I set about making the Mood Stars out of felt and sending them to childminders so that they could provide this very important area of learning.

The childminders loved them. When I showed them to my Ofsted inspector, he suggested that there was a huge gap in the market for such a resource – something soft and tactile to help children identify different emotions. Two years later, they were marketed as My Mood Stars. Four years later, they are in over 3000 early years settings nationwide and beyond.

How are My Mood Stars supporting families in the SEND community?

My Mood Stars are a highly effective resource for those with special-educational needs and learning disabilities. For example, autistic children and adults can find it difficult to identify emotions and understand how other people think or feel.

Scenarios played out on the My Mood Stars work perfectly to help children and adults to understand their own feelings. The stars are an effective way to help when many other methods of communication have failed or broken down.

My Mood Stars have made their way into hospitals, including Great Ormond Street. What benefits are they bringing to young patients in care?

The Mood Stars being in children’s hospitals helps children to discuss their feelings about forthcoming medical procedures. Scenarios played out on the My Mood Stars board allow children to use the stars as a reflection of how they are feeling.

Siblings of the young patients are also finding the Mood Stars beneficial in helping them support their brothers and sisters with emotional literacy.

What advice do you have for families who are struggling with emotional wellbeing and expression?

Communicate, often. Share your feelings with your children so it becomes a normal, everyday occurrence. Talk about feelings and sensations in the body and relate them to emotion words. Like butterflies in the tummy. Headaches. Hunger. Wobbly knees! They can all be linked to how the child is feeling emotionally.

Find more information on the My Mood Star website, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.