Bemidji Psychologist Creates Toys to Help Kids Understand Their Emotions

Amy Donnan Neppl, a Sanford Health behavioral health psychologist in Bemidji, specializes in early childhood mental health assessment, treatment and consultation. She is certified in trauma-informed child parent psychotherapy and is an experienced trainer and educator on subjects related to trauma and development.

The creation of the emotion toys helps children identify emotions. It started over 20 years ago when Donna Nepll would visit a family going through a divorce and a four-year-old boy who had been kicked out of preschool for disruptive behavior. Trying to understand the young boys emotions, he yelled at her, “I don’t have feelings and I never will!” This is when Donnan Nepll went home and created the faces of five emotions that are now used to help children understand their emotions.

Donnan Nepll wants parents to know that understanding emotions in a young child can be challenging at times. She encourages parents to reach out for support to better understanding the universal language of emotions.

The toys consist of five different emotions: anger, sadness, happiness, fear, and love. You can visit her website to make a purchase and to get in contact.