Welcome to the wonderful world of The Emps. Where emotions come to life…
What are The Emps?
The Emps were created by Dr Nat, an Educational Psychologist with over 20 years’ experience working with children, families, and schools.
The Emps give every emotion a name, a face, and a voice, helping children talk about what they feel with clarity and confidence. Rather than relying on vague emojis, colours, or simple charts, The Emps introduce a rich cast of characters, far beyond just happy, sad, angry, or scared. This reflects a core belief that emotional wellbeing is built through understanding all emotions, not just the comfortable ones.
Emotions aren’t problems to fix, they are signals to understand.
The Emps are for all children, all parents and carers, and all educators. In truth, they’re for anyone who has ever felt an emotion… and wondered why…
They are our gift to the world.
Explore the Emp Gallery to discover the Emp — and the emotion — you want to understand more deeply.
All Emps are ready and waiting to be explored.
Created by an Educational Psychologist and psychologically informed, the Emp Gallery is designed to help children (and the adults around them) build emotional awareness before emotions show up — and to know what to do when they do.
Each Emp comes with a rich fact file, including where they live, their Super Powers, Treasure Tips, and their Secret Soft Sides. Alongside this, you’ll find practical, in-the-moment tools and strategies that can be used during real emotional moments — at home, in school, or on the go.
The Emp Gallery helps children recognise emotions early, understand what’s happening in their bodies and minds, and access simple, supportive strategies to regulate and feel safe. This approach supports emotional literacy, confidence, and resilience — not just in calm moments, but when feelings are big and support is needed most.
Discover a wide range of psychologically informed resources, including emotion wheels, posters, and cards, designed to support children’s emotional literacy and understanding.
Created for parents, teachers, and professionals, these tools are grounded in psychology and made to be used in real, everyday moments. They help children recognise, name, and understand their emotions, while offering practical ways to support emotional wellbeing at home, in school, and beyond.
Thoughtfully designed to build confidence and emotional awareness, these resources support adults to guide children through feelings with clarity, connection, and care.
Find Emp specific resources, such as e-books, support strategies files and Zines to download and keep to support the understanding of specific Emps and emotions.
Great for supporting when individual emotions show up in your child
Discover The Emp Detective Agency: A playful, psychology-informed approach to helping children build emotional literacy in meaningful and memorable ways.
Help children become Emp Detectives, curious investigators of their own thoughts, feelings, and reactions.
On this page you’ll find ready-to-use resources designed for 1:1 work, small groups, or whole-class sessions.
Because when children learn to investigate their emotions, they begin to feel more confident, capable, and in control.
Explore the Emp Translator Cards
From behaviour to need, at a glance for busy parents.
Support for real moments.
Big emotions don’t come with instructions.
The Emp Translator Cards help you quickly understand what is really going on beneath the behavior, and what to do next.
Created by Dr Nat, Educational Psychologist, these psychology-informed, practical cards give you simple, in-the-moment guidance when emotions run high.
Clear. Calm. Ready to use.
The K.N.A.C.K method
Do big emotions sometimes feel hard to handle?
Have you got the KNACK?
The Knack Method offers a simple, psychologically informed way to support children through big feelings, helping you respond with calm, clarity, and confidence when emotions show up.
