Breathing is an amazing tool for helping with our (adult) self regulation which in turn helps us with teaching our child regulation. Try some of these great breathing strategies with your child and together you can come up with more! Remember these key points when making breathing strategies at home:
1. Belly Breathing (you want the breathing to go deep down into the diaphragm so the tummy comes out when you breath in). If your chest is puffing out when you breath, you are not breathing deep enough. Lay on your back and put your hands on your tummy and try to have your hands rise as you breathe.
2. Do 3 cycles (breathe in, breathe out = 1 cycle) at minimum
3. Do these breathing cycles SLOWLY.
4. Have fun with this and coming up with calming ways to breathe with your child. One of the video ideas may work for you, or you may find something else that connects with you and your child!
1. Belly Breathing (you want the breathing to go deep down into the diaphragm so the tummy comes out when you breath in). If your chest is puffing out when you breath, you are not breathing deep enough. Lay on your back and put your hands on your tummy and try to have your hands rise as you breathe.
2. Do 3 cycles (breathe in, breathe out = 1 cycle) at minimum
3. Do these breathing cycles SLOWLY.
4. Have fun with this and coming up with calming ways to breathe with your child. One of the video ideas may work for you, or you may find something else that connects with you and your child!
Be sure to reach out if you need any help from your OT team!