High 5 Breathing
Let’s be honest, calm kids generally equals a calm house. When children’s emotions are running high it can have a big impact on the overall atmosphere and energy of the household. And when kids are agitated it doesn’t take much for it to escalate into tantrums and sibling warfare!
As tempting as it is to reach for the bottle of wine, one of the most beneficial things we can do is teach our kids how to regulate their emotions. Calm kids are more likely to communicate effectively and respond more positively to boundaries.
A very easy way we can teach kids to self-soothe is by getting them to focus on their breath. I love the High 5 breathing technique for its simplicity, it’s a method that can be taught from the time our children are toddlers.
This breathing exercise will switch off the stress response, lower their heart rate, calm their mind and bring their body back into balance. It's also a great a self-soothing tool to help them relax into sleep.
METHOD
- Stretch your hand out to make a star
- Using the index finger of your other hand place it at the base of your thumb
- As you trace up your thumb, breathe in through your nose and as you trace down your thumb, breathe out through your mouth.
- Slowly trace up and down each finger. Breathing in as you go up and out as you go down.
- Repeat until you feel centred and calm
