For a child who is overwhelmed, shy, still learning the language, or recovering from something frightening, that is a great deal to ask. A nonverbal way to communicate removes most of the difficulty while keeping the message intact.

Pointing Comes Before Explaining

Long before children can describe an emotion, they can recognize one. Showing a face and choosing it is a complete act of communication, and it asks nothing that the child cannot yet do.

The Side Pocket And The Front Pocket

P.A.T.C.H.E.S. carries his Feeling Faces in a side pocket. A child chooses one and places it in the front pocket, where it can be seen. Nothing has to be spoken. The bear says it for them.

The choice can be changed at any time, which matters more than it sounds: a child who knows a feeling can be swapped is far more willing to show one in the first place.

Why It Helps In Hard Places

In hospitals, shelters, counselling rooms and new classrooms, children are often asked to explain themselves to adults they have only just met. A bear on the table changes the shape of that conversation. The adult is no longer questioning the child; the two of them are looking at something together.

Ten Faces, Not One Answer

Happy, Sad, Frustrated, Angry, Hurt, Yucky, Cool, Afraid, Fluttering and Hope. Children frequently choose two or three at once, and they are right to. Being able to show a mixture is often the first time a child realizes that mixed feelings are allowed.

From Showing To Saying

Nonverbal tools are not a replacement for language; they are the on-ramp to it. A child who points to Frustrated for a week often begins saying the word in the second week, because the word has been attached to something real and nobody made a fuss about it.

The goal is never to make a child talk. It is to make sure that a child who cannot talk is still heard.