Relaxation and breathing exercises can calm an anxious child and redirect some negative stress-related behavior, such as hitting, yelling or pushing, into a more positive direction. The Education Resources Information Center reports that one nursery school director decided to use deep breathing and relaxation techniques with 3- to 5-year-old students attending the school. The director reported that after 10 weeks of practice, the group showed "increased self-control," as well as more focus, cooperation and overall calm in classrooms.
Visualization for Calming Down
According to the article "Relaxation, Guided Imagery, and Visualization Techniques" by Sandra Rief, hyperactive kids may show the most positive results by learning techniques that relax their minds and bodies. Rief suggests the following simple exercise: Ask the child to think of a color that makes her feel calm and at peace. Tell her to close her eyes and breathe in the color. Have the color travel down the throat into the lungs, then into the whole body, until the child feels "filled up" with the color. Tell her to take deep breaths and "experience" the color until she feels calm.
Deep Breathing And Centering
This is a calming activity suggested by the Kids Relaxation website: Have the child hold his left hand in a fist, and imagine that the hand is a bright flower. Hold the right hand in another fist and imagine that it's a candle. Ask the child to imagine breathing in the scent of the flower of one hand, then blowing out the candle in the other. This exercise is useful when a child needs to pause and relax.
Grounding Visualization
Ground visualization is a good exercise if a child needs to focus, for example, before a test. Ask the child to lay or sit down with closed eyes and imagine herself as a large tree. Ask her to breathe deeply and feel the roots deeply implanted into the earth. Have her send new roots deeply into the ground. Then direct her to feel the strong trunk, and finally, picture the leaves stretching into the sunlight.
Progressive Relaxation and Deep Breathing
Children can learn a version of progressive relaxation that is popular with adults, according to Rief. Have the child lie on the floor. Tell him to tighten the muscles in the left foot. Then fully relax the muscles. Have him take deep breaths, and relax the muscles while breathing out. Continue to the right foot--then move up the calf muscles to the stomach, chest, neck, shoulders and jaw.
