Family Educator Night
Helping Calm Down BIG Emotions
The Escalation Curve - Helping calm your child BEFORE explosions
Creating a Calming Routine
1. Develop the plan together, the more he is involved and excited, the more your child is involved, the more they will use the space
2. Pick a space that feels comfortable and calm - a chair in the living room or kitchen, a spot in his bedroom, etc.
3. Have items the child enjoys that make them feel calm - drawing tools and paper, a glitter jar, putty or play dough, books, legos, stuffy
4. Develop a routine and practice it when things are calm. I recommend setting a timer for 10 minutes and including a snack at the end.
5. Use the feelings chart to have the child identify how they are feeling when upset and after they use the calm down corner. This will help the child identify that taking a break helps when they are feeling big emotions, and that he feels calmer after. This is great for self-esteem and growing those resiliency skills - the child isn't a. mad person, the child feels mad and can do something by themselves to feel better, that is power!
6. Model using a calming space for yourself, show your child that it is normal to have feelings and that you can do something to calm yourself down. This shows your child that it is normal to use a calming routine.
7. Positive reinforcement - every time the child uses it, give lots of praise for taking care of themself and using tools to calm themself down.
8. Never have the calming corner be a punishment, but rather a tool that will help the child feel better. A calming routine is not time out.
Coping Skills and Calming Techniques
Kid Friendly Apps and Websites
This app is 4J approved and can go on ALL 4J devices. This is an app kids can go on themselves, do a feelings check in and chose calm-down activities that they are interested in. This app also has bedtime stories to help with calming kids down at night.