Is your child experiencing anxiety, fluctuating emotions, or lack of focus?
It’s well known that calm, deep breathing helps soothe the nervous system (with special note to the vagus nerve), and therefore helps to balance body, mind and emotions, for everyone young and old.
However, inspiring a young child or toddler to do calm breathing might prove challenging to say the least.
So instead, why not try an activity like blowing bubbles!
Be sure to give your child a brief explanation that the goal is long slow calm breaths, remembering in through the nose, out the mouth, nice and slow. (Exhaling this way, will typically create more bubbles, compared to short sharp breaths anyway!) Do a few practice runs together. And let them know, that this ‘calm breathing’ might help them feel better.
The more regularly calm breathing is practiced, the more positive effects can be felt. Slow calm breathing can support the immune system, digestive system, mood, improve sleep patterns, and balance energy levels.
The ‘calm breathing’ could be the first of many life tools, that the child refers to as they grow, and for the rest of his/her life.