30 Calm-Down Techniques For Children

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30 Simple Calm Down Techniques for Children.

Do you have a highly sensitive child?

Are you looking for calm-down techniques to help them?

Maybe your child is prone to sensory overload, leading to moments where they cannot control their reactions. It’s easy to say, “just stop crying” or “you need to calm down” to our children and expect them to snap out of it.

When you take this route, your child will often end up with a worse “breakdown.”

I have been there.

I have a highly sensitive child.

A child will go into a full-blown meltdown when she has sensory overload or feels like her world is falling apart and she can’t control anything.

I learned early on that I needed to equip her with tools to self-soothe during these “meltdowns.”

One day my mom read that hugging someone for twenty to thirty seconds helps calm a person down and it slows the heart.

My highly sensitive daughter became upset about a circumstance she couldn’t control a couple days later while we were visiting my mom and dad.

So, my mom took her into a room by herself and asked my daughter to hug her. Then they counted to 20 together. My daughter came out with my mom calmly as a cucumber.

This has become one of her favorite ways to self-soothe.

Who has been there themselves? It’s hard to control our “freakouts,” so to say, when we do not have the tools to cope with them.

Equipping your child with the tools to calm themselves down is an important job as a parent.

But how do we do this? Every child is unique, and different techniques will work for each one.

Having an array of techniques at your disposal will be useful when helping your child learn how to cope with feelings of overwhelm.

Before you read these 30 techniques, you can teach your young children ALL about their emotions with these fun activities and books! Check them out here.

Here are 30 great techniques you can teach your child when they need to calm down.

1. Hug someone and count to 20.

2. Count breathes until 10.

3. Make and use a calm-down jar.

4. Stretch.

5. Hug themselves tight.

6. Go somewhere alone and breathe in and out. (Blow the candles, smell the flowers.)

7. Go for a walk.

8. List the positive outcomes.

9. Teach your child self-affirmations.

10. Practice yoga.

11. Paint a picture.

12. Blow bubbles.

13. Take a hot bubble bath.

14. Count backward from 100.

15. Talk to someone you trust.

16. Write in a journal.

17. Wrap up tightly in a blanket.

18. Jump up and down 10 times.

19. Listen to classical music.

20. Go outside.

21. Go on a nature walk.

22. Read a book.

23. Squeeze putty or play-doh.

24. Color a picture.

25. Take a break.

26. Go somewhere else (change your atmosphere).

27. Use a fidget spinner.

28. Use a weighted blanket.

29. Suck on a sucker or candy.

30. Pop bubble wrap.

Why do children need to know how to calm themselves down?

Being able to calm ourselves down with self-soothing techniques is a skill everyone needs to know. It’s important for children to realize they cannot control everything that happens in their life. (We know that as adults, don’t we?)

But how we react to the stressors can make or break our day.

Giving your child the tools to calm themselves down when they cannot control a situation or outcome is vital to their mental health.

There will be days when your child cannot control what is happening around them. Maybe their cousins or siblings don’t want to play the game they made up.

Or maybe they are having a difficult time understanding a topic from school.

They need to learn that it is okay to take a step back and break from what is stressing them out. Then to come back with a clear mind.

Our reactions to situations beyond our control play a huge role in our lives.

If your child sees you getting upset and worked up over situations you cannot control daily, they may become more prone to pick up this behavior.

Some people are also more sensitive to sensory overload.

You and your child can work together to devise a strategy to help them (and you!) calm down when that sensory overload strikes!

Affirming who our children are to them daily is important.

Every day I speak words of affirmation over my children. This gives them to confidence to know who God made them to be and who they are capable of becoming! You can speak words of affirmation over your children daily too. Get your free affirmation list below and get started today!

Do you want access to your free affirmation list?

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Be sure to read my top posts on parenting:

• Why Consistent Parenting Matters
• 12 Habits of Immensely Peaceful Moms
• 63 Mom Hacks That Are Pure Genius
• Connect With Your Child and Build Up Their Heart

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