Committed Action: Help Kids Take One Tiny Step at a Time (Even When It’s Hard)

Cleo the Cheetah is walking along a path, unsure, but committed to still take steps.

Your child wants to try — but freezes. They care deeply, but their body hesitates.

They say things like:

• “I’ll do it later.”

• “I can’t.”

• “What if I mess it up?”

  
  

As parents, it’s tempting to encourage harder, push faster, or reassure away the fear. But Committed Action — a core skill in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — offers a gentler path to help kids find courage.

Committed action isn’t about bravery, confidence, or finishing the task.

It’s about taking one tiny step toward what matters — even while feelings stay big.

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🐆 What Is Committed Action (ACT Lens)

In ACT, committed action means choosing small, values-based steps — not waiting for motivation, calm, or certainty to arrive first (Hayes et al., 2012).

Children don’t need to:

• feel ready

• feel brave

• feel calm

They need permission to begin while feelings ride along. This has been the foundation shown throughout December on our Instagram page — primarily through Cleo the Cheetah, who models movement with kindness, not pressure.

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Cleo the Cheetah helps Finn the Fox take the next step in building the snow fort.

🌱 Why “Tiny Steps” and Committed Action Help Kids

Research consistently shows that:

• Small, achievable actions increase follow-through

• Success builds psychological flexibility

• Children learn resilience through doing, not reassurance alone

A meta-analysis on goal pursuit and behavior change found that breaking goals into smaller, concrete steps significantly increases persistence, especially in children and adolescents (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006).

This aligns directly with what we teach kids:

“You don’t have to do it all. You can just begin.”

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🧒 December Child Focus: One Tiny Step – Committed Action Cards

This month’s Child Mini Resource introduces committed action in language kids can feel.

Inside the cards, children learn:

• That feelings can be big, and steps can be small

• That mistakes don’t cancel effort

• That coming back matters more than finishing fast

  
  

Each card follows a predictable, calming structure:

• When (the feeling)

• Tiny Step (the action)

• Mantra (self-talk that supports flexibility)

For example, children practice ideas like:

• “I can feel wobbly and still be brave.”

• “Mistakes happen. I can try again.”

• “Small steps still count.”

This mirrors research on self-efficacy and coping, showing that children benefit most when internal language supports effort rather than outcome (Bandura, 1997).

👉 These concepts are introduced gently across the cards and reinforced through reflection and coloring activities in the free resource -🌱 One Tiny Step — Committed Action Cards.

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💬 December Parent Focus: One Tiny Step for Parents - Committed Action

This month's Parent Mini Resource builds directly on the child resource above— without turning parents into coaches.

Instead, it emphasizes:

• Modeling honest effort

• Naming feelings without stopping action

• Letting children see adults try imperfectly

Parents are encouraged to say things like:

• “I feel tired, and I’m still going to read one short book.”

• “I’m nervous, and I’m taking one small step anyway.”

Research on social learning confirms that children internalize coping strategies most effectively when they see them modeled in real time, especially during mild stress (Morris et al., 2007).

This resource supports parents in:

• Not rescuing

• Not pushing

• Not persuading

Just walking alongside.

Start exploring these parent concepts in your free resource — One Tiny Step For Parents: Committed Action. 

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🎯 How This Builds Emotional Resilience

Through practicing committed action steps, children learn:

“I can feel scared and still take a tiny step,”

Then, they begin developing:

• psychological flexibility

• persistence

• values-based decision making

Longitudinal studies show that children who practice small, repeated actions tied to meaning show greater emotional resilience and lower avoidance over time (Ciarrochi et al., 2011). That’s the heart of committed action.

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🌟 Closing Reflection

Committed action isn’t loud. It isn’t flashy. And it isn’t about getting it right.

It’s about turning toward what matters — again and again — in small, human ways.

This December, on our Mindful Living Resource Instagram page, we have been practicing:

Not faster. Not bigger. Just one tiny step at a time.

Let's continue to build a mindful, present, and connected journey together and use committed action to help kids. 💛

Warmly,

Michael R Kiel, MA, LPC

📚 Research References (Peer-Reviewed & Verifiable)

You can safely link to these:

• Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change. Guilford Press. Link.

  
  

• Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119. Link.

  
  

• Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. Freeman. Link.

  
  

• Morris, A. S., et al. (2007). The role of the family context in the development of emotion regulation. Social Development, 16(2), 361–388. Link.

  
  

• Ciarrochi, J., Hayes, S. C., & Bailey, A. (2011). Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life for Teens. New Harbinger. Link.