Reducing fears with Oups

By Margret Stöckler . Written on November 11, 2023

This blog post was written at the request of an educator who, in her class, not only accompanies children from difficult backgrounds but also traumatized children from war zones. In many classrooms in Germany and Austria, there are children with wounds in their hearts – who, despite their short lives, have already experienced unspeakable horrors and stumble through school traumatized. Countless educators do their best to alleviate the sadness and dark images in the children's minds through their dedication and "incidentally" patiently teach the little ones the new language in spoken and written form, hoping there's a little space for it in their minds.


At my former school two years ago, we accompanied a little boy through a year of waiting for his mother, who had promised to follow him soon from Syria. Again and again, we hoped she would come soon – the boy was actually unable to learn... Again and again, we heard she was coming – next week, no, next month, soon... After a year, she was finally there! The reunion must have been an unimaginable joy for the boy and his mother....

I am writing this blog post today for all educators who would like to get some support from Oups and help children reduce their fears and regain some trust in the world, life, and love. Of course, most of us are not child psychologists or trauma therapists, but do we have any other choice but to deal with the children's fears? I don't think so, because these children usually cry out loudly for help with their behavior – they withdraw or lash out wildly.

If you imagine that it is always only the adults who wage these wars all over the world, then you realize that our little friend Oups might be a good luck charm here. He comes from another star – from the Planet of Hearts. For this reason alone, there is a good chance that he can reach the children's hearts more easily and comfort them.


With a little skill, you can reach the hearts of these children with Oups almost without words – for example, with this book, which is also generally well suited as an introduction to heart education:


In the picture book "Oups, who are you", children learn with few words that Oups came from the Planet of Hearts because he wants to know why people on Earth argue and sometimes even wage wars.

The place of honor that Oups usually immediately takes as part of the class community is, in my experience, difficult to replace with anything else. The loving and peace-loving aura of the being from the Planet of Hearts reaches the children without barriers. Oups also "speaks" only with his heart, and so you can take the opportunity to let the little mascot sit on your lap as a hand puppet and let its body language "speak". I also hold the puppet to my ear from time to time when I'm waiting for messages from the heart that I want to pass on from Oups to the children. In the meantime, the children have already adopted this from me and "listen" very carefully.


Once Oups is part of the class, you can offer many small portions on the topic of "reducing fears - building trust".

In the Heart Exercises card set you will find three wonderful fantasy journeys:



Oups 100% safe meadow

Oups puts on his protective garment – here's a short video from my Oups class



Oups and his power animal