My Big Moments is a personalised children’s picture book series designed to help kids cope with life’s challenges, changes and milestones. It aims to give parents and caregivers the tools to support their little ones as they discover how to navigate the bumps in the road.
The concept for the personalised book series was conceived by two friends, Flicka Williams and Hannah Davison. Both mothers of young children, they confided in one another the feelings of isolation and being overwhelmed that parenthood sometimes brought with it. Soon after the seed was planted for the initial idea, Hannah Davison’s own children endured the 7.8 magnitude Kaikoura earthquake in New Zealand’s South Island in November 2016.
Only 10 km for the epicentre, their home suffered extensive damage, forcing them to flee in the middle of the night. As she guided her children through their trauma, it became clear to Hannah that their book concept could provide a lifeline to parents like herself during challenging times. After a discussion with Williams, the My Big Moments project started in earnest.
Backed by research and consultation from experts in child psychology, play therapy and neuroscience education, My Big Moments personalised picture books deal with various topics including everyday milestones, to the more unexpected challenges children might face. The series is aimed at children aged between 2 – 7 years. The first four books cover the events of starting school, going to hospital, getting a new sibling, and, losing a loved one. The fifth book on the topic of building resilience launches on 12th November 2020.
“Flicka and I often talk about how to navigate the bumpy road of parenthood,” says author, Hannah Davison. “We aspire to raise our kids in a way that prepares them for the complex world they’ve been born into. We want to help other parents and caregivers find the right words in the right moments, so they can guide their children with confidence through the events that will shape their little one’s lives.”
The shared experience of reading was an ideal platform to approach these big moments with children. This learning becomes powerfully effective when conducted within the secure environment of a loving relationship.
Through research into the efficacy of personalisation, and support from child development and psychology experts, including; Neuroscience Educator, Nathan Wallis, and Registered Play Therapist, Abby Linn, the first four books are available to purchase via the My Big Moments website, mybigmoments.com.
Studies have shown that personalised books are more effective for children in terms of information uptake than general books. Research conducted by Dr. Natalia Kucirkova, a Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Institute of Education UK, concludes that: “Personalisation is certainly a great technique to motivate children in various educational activities. Books and digital stories to which children can add their own texts, sounds or pictures engender the feelings of agency, empowerment and sense of ownership.”
My Big Moments enables customers to select from a range of character avatars to best visually represent the child they’re purchasing for and also add their name. The child becomes a key component in the story as they drive the action forward and present activities and techniques to help cope with the scenario the characters are facing.
“We wanted to make the tricky job of parenting just a little bit easier,” says Williams. “We like to think of My Big Moments as putting a rainbow in every cloud”.
My Big Moments’ books: Ready for School, That’s Not the Plan, Baby on the Way, Goodbye Comet and The Hospital Trip, can be purchased in eBook, hardcover and softcover formats.
