When Words Fail, Your Child Still Speaks
This video helps you reconnect when your child shuts down
This article is part of the Learning Safari track, where we turn ordinary moments into powerful learning adventures—helping you spark creativity and discovery in your child’s everyday world.
I used to think kids would tell us everything
If we just asked the right questions.
But that’s not how it works, is it?
Sometimes, your child’s real truth doesn’t come in words at all.
It comes in colours.
In messy lines on a crayon-stained page.
In the way they hum the same song over and over again.
I didn’t get that at first.
I’d ask, “What’s wrong?”
They’d shrug.
I’d get frustrated and say something like, “Just tell me what’s wrong…”
But they couldn’t.
The words didn’t exist…yet.
I felt helpless.
Like I was failing them and myself.
Until I realised:
Our kids speak in hidden languages, and we have to learn how to listen
This week’s Learning Safari article is more than just a short video.
It’s probably the most emotionally honest thing I’ve made in a long time.
Because it’s about that moment, when your child is overwhelmed, frustrated,
sad… but has no idea how to explain what they’re feeling.
The video gives you simple tools to decode what your child can’t say.
And the tools aren’t complicated.
They’re not expensive.
They’re not some fancy parenting hack from a 400-page book you’ll never finish reading.
They’re things you already have in your home and your heart.
🎨 Art
🎶 Music
📖 Storytelling
These creative tools can help your child regulate their emotions, express what’s stuck inside, and reconnect with you, with themselves, and with the world.
And they can help you, too.
Because let’s be honest: Parenting can sometimes feel like walking through fog with a blindfold on.
Sometimes we’re the ones who need to reconnect.
This Is What It Means to Become Together
This is a little window into what we’re building inside the Becoming Together Premium Experience.
It’s not a “course.”
It’s not just a newsletter.
It’s a warm corner of the internet where intentional parents grow together.
Where we turn ordinary moments into learning adventures.
Where we laugh, cry, mess up, and figure it out—all while raising expressive, resilient, emotionally smart humans.
If you’ve been parenting on an island, come find your village here.
Final Thoughts (and a little reminder)
If your child is melting down and you’re out of ideas
If bedtime feels like a battle zone
If you’ve ever cried in the bathroom because you didn’t know what else to do
You are not alone.
You’re learning. Just like your child is.
And your child is not “bad.”
You just need a new language to connect.
And sometimes, all it takes is a beat.
A brushstroke.
A song.
A silly story that opens a door.
So go watch.
Let it sink in.
Then try one of the ideas in the moment your child needs it most.
It’s short. It’s real. It might give you your next “aha” parenting moment.
And it might just change everything.
With love,
Stella 💛
I’ve been a little distant with my niece and nephew this past few months mostly because I go so soft on them compared to their mother.
But when it comes to parenting, we don't all have to do it the same way right? It's all about building a space where they feel safe to talk and ezorey on anything. I'm not against my sister’s approach there are things to learn on both sides.
I love what you’re doing here Stella reading this just felt like we were having a table discussion and talking about family kids and how to build a great society with everyone inclusive.
I’ve outgrown my active parenting duties, but stepping into and truly enjoying my new role as a granddad, I still found this article (and the video) both touching and insightful.
Sometimes, the simplest reminders spark the biggest “aha” moments. No matter what stage of the journey you're in.
Well done, Stella. Thank you for this.