Moment Captain book

Contents of the handbook:

• 228 pages of useful content in the handbook

• 85 playful emotion regulation and attention control exercises

• 9 interactive mindfulness stories

• 10-week session plan

• 36 story illustrations

• exercises that can be used in kindergarten, at school and at home

• theoretical background for 10 topics

• tips and ideas for sessions

• many striking, colorful pictures and illustrations

Through the adventures of Moment Captain, children:

• learn the basics of emotion regulation

• master the technique of directing their attention;

• learn various self-soothing techniques to handle stress more easily;

• learn how not to get caught in the trap of negative thoughts;

• learn to quiet their inner critical voice;

• learn how to be more open and accepting towards themselves and others.

The Moment Captain program introduces children to the world of mindfulness – conscious presence – through interactive stories, playful exercises and conversations.

The aim of the program is for children to learn how to relate to feelings and thoughts and how to bring their attention back to what they are doing.

Why is it important to master proper emotion regulation and attention control in childhood?

Tantrums, outbursts of anger, fighting, impulsive behavior: why does a child behave like this?

Children often become impatient and tense, lash out at other children for no reason, constantly interrupt others, and lack the patience to complete kindergarten or school tasks. We often misunderstand these behaviors and think of them as bad manners, whereas the cause lies in the child's inadequate emotion regulation.

Inadequate emotional control in childhood can cause several problems that may appear in different areas of the child's development.

• If a child cannot manage their emotions properly, this may show up as outbursts of anger and aggression, or they may behave too impulsively (e.g. interrupting others, breaking the rules, eating too fast, rushing).

• A lack of emotion regulation can also affect social relationships negatively, as the child finds it harder to make friends, gets into conflicts with peers more often, cannot respond to them appropriately and understands others' emotions less.

• Children struggling with emotion regulation may be more prone to anxiety or stress during school tasks, which can hinder the learning process.

Negative emotional reactions point to immature emotional skills, yet managing emotions is key to academic success, school readiness and mental health.

Is your child easily distracted too?

An increasing number of children are also struggling with attention problems, which in many respects is also a result of today's modern world, overly rich in artificial stimuli. Not only digital stimuli, but even an ordinary shopping trip to a hypermarket means a huge amount of stimuli for the developing nervous system of a child, which they cannot yet process properly. As a result, they rush, are tense, stressed and frustrated, and cannot pay attention to their tasks or even to simple things like reading a story or a game they would like to immerse themselves in.

In this book, Bella Bagdi – psychologist, mindfulness teacher (MBSR, MBCT) and mindful self-compassion teacher (MSC) – offers simple and effective methods for preschool and early primary school children to regulate their emotions and support control of their attention.

The 10-week curriculum of the Moment Captain program:

• Moment Captain sets off: Introduction to the basics of mindfulness, learning playful mindful breathing techniques.

• Moment Captain on the Island of Fives: Discovering and consciously using the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) with the magic hat, the symbol of mindful presence in the stories.

• Moment Captain and Wanderer: Attention is like a muscle that can be trained. The puppy-like nature of attention is embodied by Wanderer, whom we can learn to call back when it strays.

• Moment Captain's treasure chest: Discovering small everyday joys. Appreciating good things and creating feelings such as joy, gratitude and love.

• Moment Captain and the Island of Calm: Developing the ability to self-soothe in stressful situations.

• Moment Captain and the Storm of Emotions: Getting to know the basic emotions (joy, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust) and playful exercises for managing emotions.

• Moment Captain and the Reef of Thought Clouds: Understanding the nature of thoughts and exercises for breaking free from the grip of negative thoughts.

• Moment Captain and quieting the inner critical voice: Grumpy Gnome embodies the inner critical voice, which children learn to quiet, and they can discover their inner encouraging voice.

• Moment Captain and acts of kindness: Children can discover how kindness can change things. Kindness in attention, words and actions.

• Mindfulness in everyday life: Consciously using the playful mindfulness techniques learned so far in everyday situations.

About the author

BELLA BAGDI

Psychologist, mindfulness teacher (MBSR, MBCT), mindful self-compassion teacher (MSC), founder and lead developer of the Boldogságóra (Happiness Lesson) Program. She launched the Happiness Lesson Program in the 2014/2015 school year; more than 1,500 institutions have joined it so far, so that today more than 100,000 children and young people can take part in Happiness Lesson sessions, which students often simply call 'emotion class'. Bella's mission is to support people's mental health with scientifically grounded methods, and thereby contribute to a happier, healthier and more compassionate society. Her best-known publications are the Happiness Lesson book series and the Pozitivity developmental games.

Awards:

• Boldogságóra – OTP Fáy Educational Innovation Award, lower primary category, 2024.

• HundrED's Global Collection of the most impactful and scalable innovations for 2025.

• HundrED's Spotlight of the most effective Wellbeing in Schools programmes

HundrED, an organization championing science-based education programs, selected the Happiness Lesson Program as one of the world's 100 most impactful school innovation programs, and in 2025 it was also included among the world's 15 most impactful school well-being programs!

Choose it as a bundle!

Set off on a shared adventure with Moment Captain and the playful questions of Kids Vibe! This special developmental bundle combines the magical world of stories with free creative expression, so children can joyfully explore their feelings, practice directing their attention, and let their imagination soar freely.
Moment Captain's interactive stories and playful exercises bring the basics of emotion regulation, self-soothing and mindful presence closer. Kids Vibe's 200 creative questions and tasks invite children to tell stories, draw, role-play and create new worlds. Together, the two publications support attention, self-expression, flexible thinking and creativity in many ways.
The Moment Captain × Kids Vibe bundle is the perfect choice for cozy evenings together, weekend family activities, travel, or any time you want a meaningful shared experience. Every story and every card drawn is a new opportunity for your child to get to know themselves better, bravely share their ideas, and for you to grow even closer while playing.

Product details:

Written by: Bella Bagdi
Professional reviewer: Dr. Kornélia Nyitray
Pedagogical experts: Lilla Veres-Lukács, Zsófia Jozifek, Márti Szabó Language editor: Lilla Veres-Lukács
Proofreading: Réka Perl-Tonk, Bernadett Maksa
Drawings by: Zsanett Fehér
Illustration: Tamás Diósy, Freepik, Depositphotos, Shutterstock Page design and prepress: Tamás Diósy