One of the main techniques we love using to help little kids calm down during a temper tantrum is taking 3 to 5 deep breaths.
Deep breathing has shown to help with self-regulation, anxiety, stress, concentration and overall changing our emotional state. However, it can sometimes be tricky to teach deep breathing to little children.
Here are a few ideas we love:
- Blowing Bubbles (hint... this is why we always include bubbles in our Tantrum Fix kits!)
- Imagining they are sitting in front of a big bowl of hot soup (or their favorite dish)
- Pretending to blow birthday candles
- Blow bubbles underwater when taking a bath
All of those activities use a similar skill to deep breathing and can also be a good idea to call during a big tantrum. Instead of asking your child to take a deep breath... try having them blow bubbles. More fun and quite effective :)
