IF your children are like many others in Dudley whose mental health has taken a lockdown battering, then a Dudley Fairy called Wanda may be just the answer.

A local therapist has come up with Wanda and a Pixie called Berry who live in Firefly Forest and who could help struggling children.

For they aren’t just part of an enchanting tale to distract children, they are part of a plan to introduce well-being support tools and techniques to families.

Stourbridge-based therapist Laura Wooldridge says she began to develop a ‘mindful and holistic health programme’ to support children after seeing how much their mental health was affected over the last 12 months.

And up popped the fairy-tale characters who form the basis of the Berry and Wanda Programme.

Written in poem form, they are now in a book brought to life by local fantasy artist Julie Dhemiah Meacham and designer Carly Mills from Two Thirds Design.

Laura is planning to offer parent and baby sessions from May, and toddler sessions are planned for later in the year. The sessions will include mindfulness, breathing, massage, reflexology, yoga and sensory techniques.

Each session has a different theme and a different story to support little growth and development, from connection and bonding to teething and exploration.

The books will be available independently of the sessions to enjoy together at home and are suitable for children up to the age of 7.

In the first book you find out how Wanda and Berry first met, go on their journey, and then the children will be able to reflect on their friends mindfully and who is important to them with an activity at the end of the story.

It is available through Kickstarter to raise funds to get it published: http://kck.st/3dRUPj7Website: www.berryandwanda.co.ukFacebook: Berryandwanda