THE BRAIN (Momentous, 2020)
What is it?
Our brains are responsible for everything we do:
- The Prefrontal Cortex - What we think, decisions we make, how we solve problems, focus our thoughts, and plan things out.
- The Amygdala - How we react to a situation - fight, flight, or freeze.
- How we react emotionally - with strong emotions or calm emotions.
- The Hippocampus - Our memories
- The Brain Stem - Our involuntary movements - breathing, our heart beating, etc.
Why is it important?
When children understand how their brain works and what is happening to them, even on a very limited basis, they have the power to regulate their thinking, behavior, and emotions.
How to Support Your Child at Home
Children love asking a lot of questions. It is important to take a few minutes to answer these questions. Use these times to explore a bit deeper and begin to ask your child a few questions.
Example: When your child is upset or having a big emotion, take time to ask them why they are feeling that way and what they think they could do to regulate their emotions.
BREATH (Momentous, 2020)
What is it?
The positive impact of focused, mindful breathing on overall well-being has been well researched. Children and the adults in their lives can learn how to use their breath to calm, center, self-regulate, and refocus.
Why is it important?
By learning breathing strategies for self-regulation, children can react to stressful situations in a more mindful way.
How to Support Your Child at Home
Breath to Five (Momentous Institute, 2020)
It is normal for children to throw temper tantrums when they are frustrated or having a hard time communicating. It is helpful to teach them a strategy they can use when they feel overwhelmed. Focused breathing is a practice used for calming, centering, and refocusing.
Sit in a comfortable position facing your child. Tell your child you are going to practice counting to five in a different way. Exhale through the mouth. Raise your hand out in front of you and make a fist. Inhale through the nose. As you exhale through the nose, open up one finger from your fist and say “one.” Repeat this breath until your fist is fully opened and you have counted to five. You can repeat with the other hand if needed. It’s important to teach this strategy when both you and your child are feeling regulated and calm. Over time and with practice, your child may choose to use this strategy to help them calm down when they are upset.
Breath, Think, Do! (Sesame Street in Communities, 2020)
- Breathe
- First, help kids calm down.
- Encourage them to put their hands on their bellies and slowly take three deep breaths, in through the nose and out through the mouth.
- Ask them to whisper ‘calm down” (or another encouraging phrase) to themselves.
- Think
- Next, help children understand their problem and think about a plan to solve it.
- Encourage little ones to tell you how they are feeling and why. You can help them find the words by telling them what you notice (“It seems you feel frustrated because you’re having trouble putting on your sweater.”)
- Help come up with a few different plans for solving the problem (such as unbuttoning the top button).
- Do
- Encourage kids to choose a plan and try it out. Ask, “Which plan is best? Let’s try it!”
- If the plan doesn’t work, ask “How else could you do this?” and then try the next plan.
- Remind kids that learning new things takes practice. It’s not that they can’t do it; it’s that they can’t do it yet.
