Balancing the Bucket with Deep Breathing
This is the last post in our bucket series. The sensory system is undoubtedly more complex than an analogy can truly grasp, however thinking about the bucket helps us remember that our bucket can get too full, unbalanced, too heavy or too empty. It is so important to take time throughout our day to notice how our bucket is feeling and take steps to maintain a balanced bucket. This helps promote the state that professionals call, "calm and alert" which means our brains and bodies are organized, ready to receive input, process it and organize a response that creates moments of engagement, learning and fun.
How often do you stop to take a deep breath before working through a challenge? Trying something new and different? When you need a break? Why is that a response many of us go to without even realizing it? When we take a deep breath, it helps to bring our body back to a rest and digest state. In fact, taking short and shallow breaths can actually move us into a more stressed state. Changing breathing at bedtime can aid in calming for sleep easier as well. Some previous clients have used this device to work on breathing at bedtime and we saw carry over into daily activities with gentle verbal prompts from parents.
Deep breathing is especially important to work on and model when your child is calm and then encourage when your child is upset. How do you teach a child to use deep breathing to calm? Here are 5 different ways to teach deep breathing that are more relatable to children.
Belly Breathing - have your child lie on his back or stand in front of a mirror and practice breathing in while his belly blows up like a balloon and breathing out while his belly shrinks.
Shape Breathing - you can print out simple shapes and have your child breathe in as the trace the first line and out when they turn a corner. Each time you round a corner, change direction of breath. For a triangle you could breathe in for a count of three, turn the corner and hold for a count of three, turn the corner and breathe out for a count of three.
Blow Bubbles - Blowing bubbles requires some control of breath and some big, deep breaths to initiate. If your child is not able to blow bubbles yet, try blowing the bubbles, catching one on the end of the wand and then having them gently blow it off. For other fun activities with bubbles check out this post.
Smell the flowers, blow out the candles - verbal cues like this can help children learn to breathe in through their noses and out through their mouths while encouraging big breaths that are calming.
Counting - counting as you breathe can also help slow it down. Count as you inhale and see how high you can go, now see if you can exhale for the same count. . .or longer. Older children can do especially well with counting for big breaths.
It can be very helpful to match your child’s intensity and speed of breathing and then gradually slow your breathing, waiting for the child to meet your speed before slowing it down some more. Some children respond well to sitting on a parent's lap and slowing their breathing to match their parent. Big, deep breaths are key to helping children and adults reach a calm alert state. 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.
I hope you have gained some understanding of the sensory system and some ideas for helping your child maintain some balance. If you enjoyed this series please like and share using the social media buttons below. Also be sure to come back for our upcoming posts covering camping and back to school.
