Calming exercises for kids: breathing and little breaks

Children’s days are full of impressions. When it gets to be too much, little calming exercises can help the body settle down. They work best when they have been practiced in calm moments, so your child knows them when it really counts.

1. Blow out the candle

Hold up a finger like a candle. Breathe in through your nose, and blow out slowly so the “flame” flickers. Repeat three times.

2. Smell the flower

Pretend to smell a flower: a long breath in through the nose. Then blow on a dandelion: a long breath out through the mouth.

3. Teddy on the tummy

Your child lies on their back with a teddy bear on their tummy. As they breathe, the teddy goes up and down. Can the teddy fall asleep from the gentle rocking?

4. Snail counting

Count slowly to five, like a crawling snail. Then just as slowly back down again.

5. Stiff as a robot, floppy as spaghetti

Tense your whole body like a robot. Then let go of everything and go floppy like cooked spaghetti. It helps your child feel the difference between tense and relaxed.

6. Five things I can see

Name five things you can see, four you can hear and three you can touch. It moves attention from thoughts to the surroundings.

7. The hug button

Give yourself a big hug, and say a kind sentence: “I am safe.” Your child can do this alone, even when an adult isn’t right beside them.

8. The quiet corner

Make a little corner with a pillow, a blanket and a book. It’s not a punishment, but a place your child can choose to go when they need some calm.

Make it a habit, e.g. right before bedtime. Small cards with one exercise on each make it easy to pick one and get started.

From My Mini Mindset

Want to bring the words into everyday life? Here are materials with your child’s name and a figure that looks like your child:

• Calm cards with your child’s name
• Bedtime routine poster