The best story app for big feelings (2026): helping kids with worries, anger and change
Full disclosure: we make one of these apps, so we're biased. Here's what we'd actually use to help a child with worries, anger, sadness or a big change, including the free ones that aren't ours, and one thing pediatricians say not to do.
| App | Best for | Price | How it helps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branchlings (ours) | stories about their own worries, feelings and changes | From $9.99/month; sample stories free to read, no free trial | Your child is the hero who feels it, and works out what to do |
| Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame | a free calm-down strategy for ages 2 to 5 | Free, with no in-app purchases | Your child helps a Sesame monster breathe, think of a plan, and try it |
| PBS KIDS Games | free games about feelings, with characters they know | Free, with no ads | Games about kindness, mindfulness and emotions, with Daniel Tiger and friends |
| Moshi | breathing exercises and meditations at bedtime | About $13/month or $80/year in the app ($9.99 or $49.99 on its website); 7-day free trial | Guided meditations and breathing exercises for children |
Use it before the meltdown, not during
The American Academy of Pediatrics' 2026 advice is blunt: "For preschoolers, use of mobile devices for calming is associated with weaker emotion regulation skills and problematic media habits." (AAP policy statement)
So don't hand over the phone to stop a tantrum, ours included. Use these apps on a calm day, together, to name feelings and practice what to do, then use the words and the breathing when the feeling is big, with no screen at all.
1. Branchlings ours
- Best for
- stories about their own worries, feelings and changes
- Price
- From $9.99/month; sample stories free to read, no free trial
- How it helps
- Your child is the hero who feels it, and works out what to do
This is ours. Branchlings has a whole shelf of stories for big feelings, from When I Feel Mad, It's Okay to Be Sad and Wibbly Worries to Feeling Left Out, Waiting Is Hard and Brave in the Dark, and stories for big changes: a new baby, moving house, two cozy homes, a hospital stay, when a grown-up travels.
Your child is the hero, and at each fork they decide what the hero does next, so they get to practice the brave choice, or the kind one, and see what happens. For ages up to 4, little prompts suggest something to talk about together. Grown-ups can choose how exciting stories get and leave out topics like the dark, storms or doctors.
What it isn't: therapy or a curriculum. If your child's feelings are getting in the way of everyday life, talk to their pediatrician. It's from $9.99 a month, with no free trial.
2. Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
- Best for
- a free calm-down strategy for ages 2 to 5
- Price
- Free, with no in-app purchases
- How it helps
- Your child helps a Sesame monster breathe, think of a plan, and try it
From Sesame Workshop, free with no ads or in-app purchases, in English and Spanish. Your child helps a monster calm down and solve everyday problems with one simple strategy: breathe, think, do. You can record encouraging words in your own voice for them to hear.
The catch: there are only five scenarios, so it doesn't last long, and the iPhone app hasn't been updated since 2022.
3. PBS KIDS Games
- Best for
- free games about feelings, with characters they know
- Price
- Free, with no ads
- How it helps
- Games about kindness, mindfulness and emotions, with Daniel Tiger and friends
Free, with no ads: 280+ games for ages 2 to 8 from PBS KIDS, including Daniel Tiger and games about kindness, mindfulness and emotions. The AAP's 2026 policy points to PBS KIDS as an example of higher-quality children's media.
The catch: it's a big games app, and feelings are only one part of it.
4. Moshi
- Best for
- breathing exercises and meditations at bedtime
- Price
- About $13/month or $80/year in the app ($9.99 or $49.99 on its website); 7-day free trial
- How it helps
- Guided meditations and breathing exercises for children
Moshi has hundreds of guided meditations and breathing exercises for kids, alongside its sleep stories and sounds, and you can play them on an Amazon Echo so the phone stays out of the room. Its App Store listing labels it for ages 0–5.
The catch: its website and app prices don't match (about $10 or $13 a month), and reviewers complain about billing and slow support.
Our pick
For a story about the exact thing your child is going through, starring them, Branchlings, read together on a calm evening. For a free calm-down strategy for a two-to-five-year-old, Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame.
Then practice the strategy with no screen at all: a deep breath, the name of the feeling, a plan.
What we'd do today
- Name one feeling your child had today, out loud, together.
- Pick a story about something coming up, like a new sibling, a move or the first day of school, and read it before it happens.
- Practice one calm-down move on a good day: a big balloon breath, or squeezing a pillow.
- Save screens for calm times, not for stopping a meltdown.
Questions
- Can stories help children with big feelings?
- Stories give children words for feelings and a safe way to practice what to do, especially when you read together and talk about them afterwards. They work best on a calm day, not in the middle of a big feeling.
- What happened to Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings?
- As of October 2026 it's no longer in the App Store or on Google Play, and PBS KIDS no longer lists it. The free PBS KIDS Games app has Daniel Tiger games, including games about emotions.
- Should I use an app to calm my child down?
- The AAP says using devices to calm preschoolers is linked to weaker emotion regulation. Use apps to learn and practice calming strategies when your child is calm, and use the strategy itself, without a screen, when the feeling is big.
- Is Branchlings free?
- Branchlings is free to download, with in-app purchases. You can read the sample stories before you choose a plan. Painting your character and new stories come with a plan, from $9.99 a month. See pricing.
Try Branchlings
Your child dreams up the story and picks what happens at every fork, and Branchlings writes and paints it. Free to download, with in-app purchases. You can read the sample stories before you choose a plan. Painting your character and new stories come with a plan. Plans start at $9.99 a month, and there's no free trial. For iPhone and iPad in the US.
We checked prices and features for every app here in October 2026. Apps change fast, so double-check on each app's own site before you buy. Names of other apps are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to identify them; we're not connected with any of them.