Young Children and Breathe Work

Often when we think about taking care of our mental health, we only consider us adults who are always managing a balancing act in life and need concrete ways to take care of who we are such as exercise, mindfulness practices, and even therapy. We often forget that learning to take care of our mental health can start at a very young age. Have you practiced mindfulness with your children? Whether you have or haven’t, this is your challenge, practice the fun and child-friendly practice of breathe work this week. Choose from any variety of fun ideas to practice slow and
methodical breathing. Sit with your children in a silent room in a comfortable position and take slow deep breathes and as you do gently talk them through taking a deep breathe in and:

• Imagine you are blowing out a birthday candle
• Imagine you are blowing a dandelion
• Imagine you are a dragon breathing fire
• Imagine you are blowing bubbles
• Imagine you are breathing air into a hot air balloon to go on a long journey, Where do you go?
• What do you see?

This is a simple and useful technique where there is no wrong or right, it centers your child in the present moment and stops them to only think about their breathe. You can also challenge your child to come up with their own ideas to go with their breathing but by starting to practice this now on a daily basis, it becomes a known tool in your child’s toolbox for when they are feeling stressed, vulnerable, or cranky.