Whether it’s a temper tantrum, an emotional outburst or a fight with a friend/sibling — when your child is upset it’s often extremely overwhelming and exhausting. Try these simple ideas to help calm them when they’re upset:
Guide your child in counting from one to five
In a moment of rage or emotional outburst, this is a great way to teach children to pause and be with their emotions. It allows them to process their feelings, think about how they’re reacting, and ultimately calm them down.
Encourage your child to take deep breaths
A very valuable skill that can be used throughout life and a wonderful calming technique. Breathing deeply helps settle anxiety, anger, or unrest. Demonstrate deep breathing and emphasise that the breath should go down to their bellies. If they’re battling to breathe deeply then use techniques like blowing out candles and smelling flowers for the same effect.
Tell your child to place their hands in their pockets
Great for children who react with their hands when they’re angry. This self-imposed physical restraint puts a comforting pressure on them. You could also encourage children to tightly hold one hand with the other or to sit on their hands for a similar effect.
Ask them to make a fist and then relax
When a child is upset their body gets tense and often, they don’t know how to release this tension leading to increased stress and the inability to calm down. This method allows kids to visualise their tension and then release it. Repeating this a few times can really help.
Hug your child
There’s nothing like a hug to make an upset child feel better or cared for. When your child is emotional, explain that it’s okay to ask someone for a hug. Hugs provide soothing, calming, and supporting effects and sometimes are the only way to calm your raged kiddie.