🌟 my body, my say — how to handle unwelcome hugs 💋🙅‍♀️

empowering children to protect body boundaries
meet tully — co-created in therapy with a particular brave spark, this story helps kids navigate affection, pressure, and what it means to choose connection that feels right for them.

📘 this story supports body autonomy, felt-safety, and emotional confidence — through everyday family moments and brave goodbyes.

🎧 includes:
 – a playful therapeutic story
 – reflection questions to explore together
 – calming ideas for home, school, or therapy

🎙️ part of brave sparks — co-created in therapy, shaped by children’s voices, strengths, and needs ✨

🎧 sound credits

✍️ written by: trust children and the kids we support (with a sprinkle of ai magic)
 🎙️ voice: the brave sparks team

🎙️ voice cast (generated using ElevenLabs):
 – tully — Kawaii Aerisita
 – dad — Mark
 – grandma — Seer Morganna
 – cousin 1 — Lucie
 – cousin 2 — Austin Boy

🎛️ sound mixing: brave sparks team
 🎶 music: serene acoustic guitar melodies by lolamoore — https://freesound.org/s/768424 — attribution 4.0

🎧 sound effects:
 🔔 tibetan bowl_left hit.wav by dersinnsspace — https://freesound.org/s/417117 — creative commons 0
🎶 sad little piano tune by robhog — https://freesound.org/s/685321/ — attribution 4.0
🔊 family ambience by f-r-a-g-i-l-e — https://freesound.org/s/496749 — attribution 4.0
🔔 doorbell shortened by jwheeler91 — https://freesound.org/s/442280 — creative commons 0
🌀 record scratch.wav by luffy — https://freesound.org/s/3536 — attribution 4.0
💓 heart beat.wav by chamonesteyn — https://freesound.org/s/542218 — attribution 4.0
🔔 richcraft - multiple chime by richcraftstudios — https://freesound.org/s/454608 — attribution 4.0
🧵 zipper opens — generated using elevenlabs sound effects — https://www.elevenlabs.io
🃏 cards flicking — generated using elevenlabs sound effects — https://www.elevenlabs.io
😂 kids laughing — generated using elevenlabs sound effects — https://www.elevenlabs.io
🍽️ clinking dishes — elevenlabs sfx id: 11l-clinking_dishes_clea-1747274473354 — https://www.elevenlabs.io
🎉 joyful upbeat energy by nancy_sinclair — https://freesound.org/s/759644 — creative commons 0
🌬️ whoosh.soft.wav by junggle — https://freesound.org/s/73263 — attribution 4.0
💋 double_kiss_real.aif by stereostereo — https://freesound.org/s/117355 — attribution 4.0

🌀 part of the brave sparks podcast — co-created in therapy, shaped by the voice, needs, and strengths of neurodivergent children. 🌟

🎧 co-created in therapy — inspired by your child’s voice, strengths, and needs.

🎙️ voice: children who helped shape the episode with simone mossop
 🎛️ sound design: brave sparks team
 🎵 intro/outro music: serene acoustic guitar melodies by lolamoore — https://freesound.org/s/768424 — attribution 4.0

✨ explore more spark stories or learn about our therapy approach: trustchildren.au/bravesparks

Transcript

my body, my say: how to handle unwelcome hugs 💋🙅‍♀️

🎵 [intro music: serene acoustic guitar melodies by lolamoore]
🎧 [tibetan bowl chime — tibetan bowl_left hit.wav by dersinnsspace]

narrator:
tully had a sparkly gold backpack, a favourite pair of spotty socks… and a very strong sense of personal space.

she didn’t always like hugs. especially surprise ones. especially the squishy, smothering kind from aunties and grandmas and neighbours who smelled like strong tea and flowery perfume.

🎧 [family ambience — f-r-a-g-i-l-e] 🎧 [doorbell rings — jwheeler91]

narrator:
today was grandma’s birthday brunch — with balloons, cupcakes, and everyone from the family packed into one house.

as soon as tully stepped inside, there was grandma — arms out, smile wide.

grandma (booming):
"there’s my darling tully! come give grandma a big kiss hello!"

🎧 [record scratch — luffy] 🎧 [heartbeat — chamonesteyn]

narrator:
ugh. one of those moments again. when grown-ups forgot that tully was a person — with thoughts and boundaries and a body of her own.
adults sure had a way of treating her like a teddy bear — all squishes and smooches, no asking first.

sometimes she felt like she should wear a big sign around her neck that said: "DON’T TOUCH."
but that would interfere with her style — so instead, she and dad came up with something way better.

they’d talked about moments like this. her body — her say. just because she was small didn’t mean people could touch her without permission.

they’d made a plan for times when connection felt tricky: – tully could say “no thank you” all by herself
– she could squeeze dad’s hand if she wanted help
– or she could hide behind his legs — their quiet signal for please step in

🎧 [chime — richcraftstudios]

narrator:
today, tully gave dad’s hand a tiny squeeze. and dad stepped forward with a calm, warm smile — ready to give the hug instead, just like they’d practised.

dad (gently):
"hi mum — tully’s saying no thanks to hugs today. she might need a little space first — she’ll let you know how she wants to say hello."

narrator:
grandma blinked… then nodded.
"of course," she said. "we all get to choose."

tully peeked out from behind dad’s legs. she took a breath.
now she could settle into the party in her own time, at her own pace — and warm up before deciding how she wanted to greet people.

when she found her cousins in the lounge room, they were all buzzing.

cousin 1 (whispering):
"aunty janet picked me up like i was a baby!"

cousin 2 (grumbling):
"uncle frank ruffled my hair — i didn’t even see it coming."

narrator:
they were all feeling the same thing — tired of grown-ups forgetting to ask.

so tully reached into her backpack and unzipped a little pouch.

tully:
"wanna see what my mum and dad helped me make?"

🎧 [zipper sound — elevenlabs] 🎧 [card flick — elevenlabs]

narrator:
she pulled out her connection cards — a set of shiny cards showing all the ways her parents said she could choose to connect.

there was the high five card, the smile card, the wave card, the sparkle hand, the air kiss, and even a quiet nod card (for when words felt like too much).

the cousins grinned. then someone had an idea.

cousin 1:
"let’s make it a game!"

🎧 [kids laughing — elevenlabs]
🎧 [joyful energy — nancy_sinclair]

narrator:
they stuck the connection cards to their party hats — one card per hat — and tiptoed around the room to see which grown-ups could follow the clues.

uncle frank spotted a big thumbs-up card on max’s party hat.
he paused… then gave a thoughtful thumbs up. max beamed and gave one right back.

auntie janet saw the sparkle hand and whispered,
"may i sparkle with you?" — and gave her fingers a little jazz wiggle.

grandma? she spotted a quiet nod card on tully’s hat, gave a slow nod… and waited.
tully nodded back, with a tiny smile.

narrator:
one by one, the room started to shift. grown-ups slowed down. they paused. they asked. and the kids — well, the kids lit up.

because connection felt even better when everybody got to choose.

🎧 [clinking dishes — elevenlabs]

narrator:
later, when it was time to go, grandma leaned down and said:

grandma (softer now):
"you get to choose how we say goodbye, tully. what feels right for you?"

narrator:
tully flipped through her connection cards one more time. this time — she chose the blow a kiss card, with a tiny heart drawn in the corner.

🎧 [whoosh — junggle]
🎧 [double kiss — stereostereo]

narrator:
as they walked to the car, dad gave tully a thumbs up. and tully reached out to give dad a big hug — because when hugs come from you, they feel just right.

🎵 [music swells and fades out]

episode 8 — co-created in therapy with a particular brave spark 💛