Adults are not the only ones that can benefit from learning to breathe deep, kids can benefit too, and learning to breathe deep when you are young is a tool that you will always carry with you.  How many times have you told your child to take deep breaths when they are upset?  We know breathing deep calms us, but why? When you are relaxed you are in your rest and digest mode, or the parasympathetic nervous system.  Your heart rate is normal, your muscles are relaxed, and your breathing is normal.  When you experience a stressful event, your body will go into fight or flight mode, or the sympathetic nervous system.  This is what would happen in caveman times when we were being chased by wild animals.  Your heart rate increases, your breathing becomes shallow, and your stomach stops digestion.  We do not have wild animals chasing us anymore or at least I hope not, but our body responds the same way to our modern day stressors.  We know deep breathing helps, it increases oxygen in the body and helps us to calm down and transitions us back into our rest and digest nervous system.  The challenge with kids is to keep them engaged and get them to breathe deep and long enough.  These two breathing exercises are fun and should keep your child engaged long enough to calm down.  Use these breathing exercises when your child is upset or angry and use when your child needs to focus on schoolwork or an upcoming test. These exercises will bring your child back to the present moment.

Butterfly Breathing

  1. Ask your child to pretend to be a butterfly. Show your child what the butterfly wings should look like.  Hold your arms out and bring them back in as you loosely wrap around your body giving yourself a hug.  Have your child do this with you.  Practice this first before you add in the breath.
  2. Now, add in the breath. Have your child inhale with you as you both flap your arms out like butterfly wings and exhale as you both bring your arms in wrapping around your body.  The most important part is to remind your child to breathe deep.  You can count 1,2,3 with the inhale and 1,2,3 with exhale if that helps your child to breathe deeper.  Make it fun as you both pretend to be butterflies

Take Five Breathing

  1. Tell your child to fan out their hand like a star. They can hold their hand up, or place it on their knee, or a table.  Next, have them take their pointer finger from the opposite hand and begin to trace along the hand that is fanned out.  Have your child start with the base of the thumb.  As your child traces up each finger have them inhale and as they trace down each finger have them exhale.
  2. Do the exercise with your child and make sure they move slowly and encourage them to breathe deep. The exercise can be repeated as long as needed.