Self-Regulation

Wendel is letting the angries take control of his body, throwing his toys and bugging his dad. Maybe he and his Dad can come up with some mindfulness games to help Wendel be the boss of his emotions.

Self Regulation

  • Helping your child to regulate their emotions takes practice. 
  • You and your children can try different strategies to find ones that work for them. It is a process of trial and error.
  • Sometimes children who appear to be very active and struggle to listen really require support to regulate their bodies and emotions to be able to slow down.
  • Practice a couple of self-regulation strategies with your child- get them to choose the strategies that work best for them.
  • Deep breathing can help turn down the fight-flight-freeze response.
  • Squeezing different muscle groups (or progressive muscle relaxation) can help reduce muscle tension and make us feel more relaxed.
  • The “5 Senses Grounding Exercise” (5-4-3-2-1) shifts our attention away from our thoughts and feelings, and to be present in the here and now through our senses.

These videos were developed in partnership with the Mary J. Wright Child and YouthDevelopment Clinic, Faculty of Education Western University

Parents

Watch the video below first, then watch the video as a family!

 Tips:

  1. Pretend to blow up a big ballon- take a deep breath in and blow up the balloon as big as you can.
  2. Let’s make some lemonade! Pretend your body is a big lemon- squeeze your body as hard as you can for 5 seconds and let go? How much lemonade did you make?
  3. The statue game: strike a pose- how long can you stay as still as a statue?
  4. The five senses exercise – a sensory version of I spy:
    • Tell me 5 things you can see
    • Tell me 4 things you can hear
    • Tell me 3 things you can touch
    • Tell me 2 things you can smell
    • Tell me 1 thing you can taste
  5. Teach the STOP activity: Stop, Take a breath, Observe and Proceed.
  6. Take a time out- teaching your child to remove themselves from a situation for a quick break is a great way for them to learn to self regulate.
  7. An exercise break is a great way to help children self regulate- set a timer a do some jumping jacks or run in one spot.