Balancing the Bucket with Deep Breathing
When a child is already upset, sometimes it is best to be close and maintain your own big, deep breaths and wait for them to join your calm rather than you joining her distress.
Balancing the Bucket with Oral Sensory Input
We start seeking oral input for comfort in the womb. Many babies are seen sucking their thumbs on ultrasounds. It remains a sense of comfort into adulthood. How many people do you know that chew gum, sip on a drink or chew on pen caps throughout their day?
Balancing the Bucket with Cold and Water Play
Playing with cold items and in water are excellent ways to provide calming sensory input for some children.
Balancing the Bucket in Calming Spaces
Sometimes we all just need a break. We seek out a space that is quiet and inviting. We often emerge feeling better, centered, balanced. This space allowed us to balance out our bucket in one way or another. When children are overwhelmed by sensory information, they may need a similar break from activity and sensory input to help balance their sensory bucket.
Balancing the Bucket with Relaxing Music
. . .varying properties of music can effect brain waves, breathing and heart rate which can all impact how regulated we feel.
Balancing Buckets
One of the best analogies I have come across is to think of your sensory system like a bucket. Some people have very large buckets while other people have very small buckets. All of our sensory information (sights, smells, sounds, tastes, movement, tactile information, etc.) goes into the top of the bucket and the holes in the bottom of the bucket allow it to trickle out as we process the information. For most people a bucket that is ½ full is comfortable.