Hi friend,
I started Pause with Panda with a simple belief: Big thoughts and feelings can be overwhelming, but learning how to manage them shouldn’t be.
Growing up, I was an anxious child. Whether it was at school or in the middle of the night, my anxiety sometimes felt too big to handle on my own. I was fortunate to have a therapist who, in addition to our sessions, recorded mindfulness exercises for me on a cassette tape. I didn’t know what mindfulness was at the time—I just knew that listening to those recordings while holding my teddy bear made me feel better. Over time, those exercises became part of my personal toolkit for managing emotions, helping me feel safe, calm, and in control.
Now, as a mom, I think a lot about how we help our children navigate their emotions. We want them to feel safe, confident, and capable—but knowing how to support them in the moment can be challenging. I created Pause with Panda because I wanted to bring that same sense of comfort and emotional support to children in a way that is engaging, age-appropriate, and screen-free. With just the press of a button, Panda guides kids through calming, focusing, and movement-based exercises, helping them develop skills they can carry with them for life.
It’s my hope that Pause with Panda becomes a helpful part of your child’s unique emotional and mental wellness routine—just as that cassette tape was for me. Parenting is a journey, and we all need support along the way. Pause with Panda was designed to be part of that support system—for children, for parents, and for the people who care for them.