Out Of The Mouths Of Littles
This short video "Just Breathe", shows littles talking about the importance of mindfulness and deep breathing. Deep breathing can be used by littles when they feel upset to help calm themselves down. Teaching kids this technique of taking deep breaths and being mindful of what they feel is an amazing tool they can use for the rest of their lives and the earlier they learn, the better. Start by introducing the technique at night before bed. Guide your little to take several deep “belly breaths”, being mindful of their belly filling with calming air.
Teaching Belly Breaths To Your Little
1) Breath in through the nose for 3 counts, hold
2) Tell your little to imagine their belly is a balloon that they are filling up
3) Exhale through the mouth for 3 seconds, hold
3) Imagine letting all the air out of the balloon in their belly
4) All together it sounds like this "In, 1,2,3, out, 1,2,3..."
5) Repeat 5 times to start, build up to more as they get better at it
Once they have the technique down you can guide them to put it to use. When something is not going their way, the moment that you see that they are getting upset or frustrated, you can tell them to take some belly breathes to help them calm down. Here’s a bonus video to show your littles how awesome belly breaths are!
Let me know how it goes!
Risi
