12 simple games to bring more connection, confidence and ease when school feels hard
Instant access · £27
When school feels hard
When your child is struggling with school, everything can start to feel very serious.
"I don't want to go." Tears at drop-off. Battles over getting dressed. Worries about friendships.
Coming home exhausted, angry or falling apart over something tiny. And naturally, you try to help by talking.
You reassure. You explain. You persuade. You ask what's wrong.
But sometimes your child doesn't need more words. Sometimes they need to play.
What it is
Simple games you can actually play together
Transform School Struggles with Play gives you 12 simple games you can use to help your child with some of the fear, tension and powerlessness that can build up around school.
- No elaborate set-up.
- No special equipment.
- No forcing your child to talk about how they feel.
- Just practical, playful things you can do in five or ten minutes.
This is for you if…
You can see they're having a hard time
- Your child is struggling to separate from you.
- Mornings have become stressful or full of battles.
- They seem worried about school, friendships or something happening there.
- They hold it together at school and then completely fall apart at home.
- Or you can see they're having a hard time, but talking and reassuring just don't seem to be helping.
Why play can help
School asks a lot of children
Every day, they have to:
Separate from you Follow instructions Fit into somebody else's timetable Navigate friendships Cope with noise Meet expectations Make mistakes Deal with things not going their way
Even a child who appears to be coping beautifully at school can come home carrying a HUGE amount of tension.
Play gives your child a chance to do something very different.
To be powerful. To be in charge. To chase you. Beat you. Escape. Win. Laugh. Reconnect with you.
And that can help shift some of what they've been carrying.
What kind of games are we talking about?
Very simple ones. Five or ten minutes.
- Games where your child gets to be stronger than you.
- Silly games to make getting dressed less of a battle.
- Games that play with separation in a safe, playful way.
- Games that help a worried child feel powerful.
- Games that bring laughter and connection back in when things between you have become tense.
- You don't need to be naturally playful. You don't need to invent anything.
I've done that bit for you.
Your 3-week play plan
Not a big list of games. A simple plan.
Rather than giving you a big list of games and leaving you to figure out what to do with them, I've made it simple. Each week, you'll have a small collection of ideas to choose from.
A peek inside: every game has its own short video
Week 1
- 1Game
- 2Game
- 3Game
- 4Game
Week 2
- 5Game
- 6Game
- 7Game
- 8Game
Week 3
- 9Game
- 10Game
- 11Game
- 12Game
- Pickthe ones that suit your child. You do not have to do every game.
- Repeatthe ones they love.
- Ignorethe ones that don't feel right.
- Come backwhenever you need a fresh idea.
The aim is to help you keep bringing in play and connection over the next few weeks, without having to think up new ideas when you're already tired and stressed.
These games can help if your child is…
Any of these sound familiar?
Struggling to separate from you Saying they don't want to go to school Anxious or worried about school Fighting you over getting ready in the morning Having friendship difficulties Feeling left out or lacking confidence Coming home and melting down Picking fights with siblings after school Becoming clingy, controlling or irritable Finding it hard to tell you what's wrong
You don't have to get your child to explain what's wrong before you can help.
Play gives you another way to connect and support them when talking isn't getting you very far.
"But I'm not a very playful parent…"
That's okay. You're not trying to become an entertainer.
You're looking for little moments of laughter, power and connection.
- Sometimes a game takes off immediately.
- Sometimes your child looks at you like you've completely lost the plot.
- Sometimes the game turns into tears.
- Sometimes they want to play the same one over and over again.
You follow your child.
There's no perfect way to do it.
What you get
Everything you need to start playing this week
- 12 practical gamesSimple play ideas designed around the kinds of feelings and challenges that can come up around school.
- 4 games a week for 3 weeksSo you always have a few ideas to try without feeling overwhelmed.
- Clear instructionsSo you know what to do and how to adapt the games to your child.
- Games for different school strugglesIncluding separation, worries, confidence, difficult mornings and after-school stress.
- Ideas you can keep coming back toBecause school struggles can come and go, and sometimes you just need reminding what to try.
£27
One payment · instant access
- 12 games with clear instructions
- 3-week play plan
- Yours to come back to, whenever you need
You don't have to fix everything at once
Choose one game. Try it. See what your child responds to.
Bring in a little more laughter.
A little more connection.
A little more opportunity for them to feel powerful.
And build from there.
You don't need another parenting technique to remember. You need a handful of simple ideas you can reach for when your child is struggling. That's what Transform School Struggles with Play gives you.
12 simple games. 3 weeks.
More connection, more confidence and more ideas for when school feels hard.