Jenn shares 7 kid-friendly breathing techniques to help your kiddo calm down and process their emotions.
Let’s set the scene.
It’s Monday evening. You come home from a long day of work. You walk through the door with your hands full and the kids walking in front of you. They drop their backpacks as they walk in, which you immediately trip over. All the while, your phone is ringing in your bag, the dog is barking, the kids are yelling through the house, and then “Oh, no” someone is crying.
All you wanted was a few minutes of quiet before making a quick dinner and getting out the door to your kid’s evening sports practice. But, after only a minute in the house, your daughter is sobbing at your feet hardly able to get a word out about what happened. Dinner would have to wait.
You take a minute to breathe and assess the situation. You breathe in again and out, pausing, then realize what is going on. You say to your daughter, “Let’s take a breath together, and help calm our bodies down.”
Her sobs begin to quiet, and she tells you what happened. Her brother took the last snack after school. Together you can see her body (and feel yours) start to become more regulated so you can discuss what happened, how she felt, and what could have been done differently. This wasn’t the evening you planned, but helping your daughter in this moment was worth the time.
Emotions are hard for adults to work through, let alone kids.
Math, Reading, Emotions...
As a third-grade teacher, I teach my kids all the usual subjects, math, reading, science… I also make it a point to teach them strategies to regulate their emotions.
For example, I had a student who didn’t understand a math lesson. She got quite upset and frustrated. I asked her to explain why she was confused. At this point, the student was too upset to explain. Reading her body language, I saw she was not making eye contact, her fists were clenched, and she was very stiff. Her body was in fight, flight, or freeze mode.
Before I could even help her with the math lesson, I had to help her calm down using various emotional regulation strategies. Then, when she was calm, the learning could continue.
God gave us emotions and they are good. They help us feel, protect, connect with others, and connect with God. But, there are times when emotions rule us and pull us in the opposite direction of God and His will for us.
Ultimately, feelings are meant to be felt, not done. As Alisa writes, “you are free to feel emotions; you just don’t want them to eclipse your desire for God or take you from His presence” (The Body Revelation, 99).
But, learning how to feel your emotions without letting them rule you is a daily practice. Learning how to feel your emotions, even the hard ones, and bring them to God is a work of the Spirit.
I hope these practical strategies will help you and the children in your life grow in emotional stability and experience the peace of Christ.
Kid-Friendly Breathing Exercises:
Hand Trace Breathing
Hold one hand out with fingers spread apart. Slowly trace your hand with a finger from your other hand. Breath in as you go up the finger and out as you go down. Release a long exhale as you trace from the pinky to the thumb.
Blow Out the Candle
Imagine each finger is a candle and blow out each candle. Note: I usually have students use as many “candles” as their age.
Shake, Shrug, Sigh
Shake your body by jumping up and down, wiggling your fingers, toes, etc. Shrug by tensing up every part of your body so it is very tight. Finally let it all out with a big sigh.
Box Breathing
Imagine or draw a square, breathe in starting from the bottom of the square, hold as you trace it up, as you trace back down, hold, breathe in across the bottom, and repeat as needed.
~ Dance: Put on some music and dance!!
Bag or Balloon Breathing
Find a bag or a balloon and breathe in. Put the bag or balloon to your mouth and blow it up with your breath. Continue as needed.
Straw Breathing
Give the child a straw and instruct them to gently blow out and breathe in through the straw. You can also put a pom pom or piece of crumpled paper on the ground and instruct the child to push the item forward with their breath.
Breath Prayer
Breath prayer is a simple way to teach kids to pray the Word of God using their breath. It is a bodily expression of worship and prayer. Since you breathe throughout the day, it is a practice that helps you “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
You can learn more about breath prayer here: https://www.revelationwellness.org/breath-prayer-guide/
The next time you or your child feel overcome with emotion, try this breath prayer from Colossians 1:17. Instruct the child to get in a comfortable position sitting, standing, or lying down. They can close their eyes, open their palms, and breathe deeply.
Inhale: He is before all things,
Exhale: In Him all things hold together
These are some of the strategies I use regularly with my students. It’s amazing how much better one feels after using these breathing techniques.
Once the child is calm, they can usually talk about their feelings.
If it’s still hard for them to identify their feelings, I ask what they feel in their body. This is called, “interoception.” As Alisa says, it’s the ability to “recognize what your body is experiencing while in the throes of a feeling or emotion” (The Body Revelation, 96).
My students will often they articulate that their tummy hurts, or they feel like they need to run, or that they need a break. I’ll work with them to decide the next steps and we’ll continue with the day.
I hope and pray these tools will help you as you work with your child to process the emotions they are feeling, big or small.
Jenn is a Revelation Wellness Fitness Instructor from Platoon 19. She is a third-grade teacher from Ontario, Canada who loves to explore, work with children, and be in God’s creation.
A Membership that Benefits the Whole Family
Looking for an online fitness membership that benefits the whole family?
Find hundreds of Christian fitness workouts, world-class programs, and support from a like-minded community in the RW+ Membership.
PLUS, get EXCLUSIVE Revelation Wellness Podcasts for KIDS! That’s right. Each month we give you access to Be Still & Be Loved episodes designed with your kids in mind.
Become a member and see your whole family transform!
