Apr/May 2025 Aspire Magazine FULL Issue | Page 94

• Dancing, moving, or shaking a body part to music with a strong beat. Stamping to the beat of strong music. Follow up with calm breathing.

• For children who express their anxiety by shutting down or melting down choose activities that help them calm. Breath with your child in a specific breathing pattern like a 5.5.5. You can lower the numbers if it is too hard.

• Ask your child if they want to do something physical or a breathing technique. Let them decide how many or what pattern. Then allow them to choose where:“ Do you want to do to do the 5.5.5,( breathe in 5, hold 5, and breathe out 5) breathing here with me or do it in your room by yourself?” When you a choice that gives the child a sense of control.

• Take time with your child to choose daily calming strategies and quiet time rituals. One of my favorites is to use a snow globe. At the end of the day, shake the globe. As the snow falls imagine that everything you’ re worried or stressed about falls off of you into the ground just like the snow in the globe.