The Heart Behind the Hat
Vinet Coetzee is a mother of two spectacular daughters and an avid traveler. She loves to discover new places and meet new people.
In the past, Vinet only wrote super-serious scientific papers. Now, she also likes to write stories that share heartwarming wisdom with her girls and all the amazing kids across the globe.
Through her books, Vinet shows young readers that they already hold the map to life’s treasures. Her stories help kids reach into their own pockets and find the wisdom they’ve carried since the very start.
Why I wrote Chit-Chat the Talking Hat
This book comes from something deeply personal.
As a parent, I often found myself wondering how to help children navigate big emotions.
At the same time, I couldn’t ignore how much more challenging it is to grow up in today’s world. A world that is faster, noisier, and filled with constant distractions.
I remember moments of calm from my own childhood. Lying under a tree, watching the leaves move in the breeze, sunlight flickering through the branches.
But as with everyone, those moments became fewer as I grew older.
My thoughts became more persistent, and I often struggled to quiet them because I hadn’t been given the tools to keep that inner calm alive.
Then I came across something in The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle that really stayed with me. I realised that I am not my thoughts and feelings. I am something deeper, the one who notices them.
That simple realisation, combined with a few practical mindfulness techniques, helped me quiet my thoughts when I wanted to, to find calm and joy. At first, only for brief moments, but the more I practiced, the easier it became.
It was such a powerful shift that I knew I had to pass it on in a child-friendly way, not just to my own daughters, but to children everywhere.
That’s why I wrote Chit-Chat the Talking Hat.
The story gently introduces children to the idea that they don’t have to be controlled by their thoughts and feelings. Instead, they can learn to observe them and gradually quiet them when they want to.
Alongside the story, the book includes simple mindfulness activities that help children begin to experience this for themselves.
Because when children learn how to find calm early in life, they gain something truly valuable:
A sense of inner stability and joy that can stay with them for a lifetime!