Calming glitter jars may be used for mindfulness and relaxation. When kids are stressed, sad, or angry, the amygdala’s natural fight, flight, or freeze response kicks in, making rational decision-making nearly impossible. This resource may be a tool to support your child in the here-and-now, provide time for them to begin to feel calmer and build their ability to pay attention to what is going on in their bodies. Watching the glitter swirl to the bottom of the jar may give your child time to calm down and regain control.

Check out a DIY How-To here

Grounding is a strategy to help reorient your child to the here-and-now. Grounding can be a useful strategy if your child has every felt overwhelmed or anxious. The “5-4-3-2-1” strategy is a great one to try. This is how to start it:

Sit quietly, pay attention to your breathing, and slowly name:

Five things you can see

Four things you can feel ("my feet on the floor" or "the sweat on my palms"

Three things you can hear ("traffic" or "birds")

Two things you can smell (or 2 smells you like)

One thing you can taste or Name 1 good thing about yourself

When children know how to take good deep breaths, it can help them overcome so many anxious feelings. Deep breathing is important because it helps to relax our bodies. It boosts the oxygen supply to our brains and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes calmness. There are several ways to encourage and teach deep breathing. Below are a few ideas:

1. Use a pinwheel or make your own. Teach your child to breathe in through their nose and expand their belly, and breathe out to turn the pinwheel.

2. Practice deep breathing with bubbles or feathers.

3. Things to say to explain the concept of deep breathing:

• Breathe in like you’re smelling a flower; breathe out like you’re blowing birthday candles.

• Breathe in and out like Darth Vader.

• Pretend your belly is a balloon. Breathe in and make the balloon bigger, then breathe out and make the balloon shrink.

• Arms up and breathe in, arms down and breathe out.

So many children love their pets! Maybe it is because they offer unconditional love (dogs), maybe its because they judge everyone equally (cats), but I think we can all agree that petting a furry friend or playing with your family pet, can help reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. Encourage your child to spend time with their family pet and care for them.

If you don't have a pet of your own, maybe a neighbor will allow you time with their pet in exchange for your help to walk or play with their pet.

Movement and exercises that raise your heart rate can also elevate your mood. You can maintain social distancing by walking your dog, doing yoga, creating a 100 mile club in your backyard, playing soccer, taking a bike ride, playing basketball or another activity your child enjoys! You can also find ways to boost your activity inside. For example: try a YouTube exercise video, turn up your favorite music and dance, or try a GoNoodle video! Below are links you can try:

Cosmic Kids Yoga

GoNoodle

Use the following phrases as a way to support your child and help them in any way you can.

"I'm here for you."

"Talk to me and tell me what's going on."

"How can I help?" or "What do you need from me?"

"I love you."

"Together, we can work on this. We're a great team."

"How big is your worry?"

"What do you want to tell your worry?"

"Let's change the ending."

"I'm going to take a deep breath. Do it with me."

Routines may have been difficult to manage during the past few weeks. Your whole schedule has likely been thrown off. Some of you enjoy structure throughout the day and some of you enjoy it less. When it comes to sleep, it is important to have a routine. A lack of sleep has been tied to greater stress levels and mental exhaustion. Here are some strategies to help you sleep:

1. Have a bedtime routine that works for your family and stick to the routine, i.e. brushing teeth, shower/bath, bedtime stories, lights out, etc. This will help your child's body know when it is time for bed, which can help them fall asleep more easily.

2. Having trouble falling asleep? Try some of the strategies listed throughout this website (i.e. grounding, breathing, "clouds," etc. ) to help wind down at bedtime.

At times, your child may develop a negative outlook. Help your child rethink their thinking. Help them understand that negative thoughts impact their outlook on life. Help them understand that they have the power to change their thought patterns. Some examples include:

1. Change “This is awful” to “Let me focus on the things that I can control and the things that are going well.”

2. Change “I’m not good at this” to “I’m just learning how to do this.”

3. Change "This is so hard" to "I will get this."

Talk to your child about the thoughts they have. Brainstorm new and positive ways to change their thoughts to be more encouraging and compassionate messages to themselves.

The video above is a great resource to share with your child about the concept of Growth Mindset. Take a look!

Sheltering at home can create a sense of social isolation and loneliness. Staying in touch with others is important to our overall well-being and an essential human need. Luckily, in today’s world there are many creative ways we can get around this:

• Set up virtual connections with friends or family - a video chat that happens every week with a few of your friends helps foster that connection. Here are some ideas you can do during a virtual "playdate": draw or color together, play with dolls or play a board game like Battleship.

Coloring is a great way to be in the here-and-now and to self-soothe. Researchers have discovered that coloring activities help relax the amygdala – the section of the brain that is activated in situations where you feel stressed or scared. Encourage your child to color a picture of their own design or see below for a link to access child, teen and adult coloring pages!

Free Coloring Pages

Most children love science. This is a great resource for your children to find answers to their questions and explore new things they haven't thought of before! Mystery Science

Virtual field trips are a great way to explore the world around you when you are at home. Here is a link from Galileo with various ideas for virtual field trips including: the Moon, Natural History Museum, San Diego Zoo and much more! Galileo Virtual Field Trips

Fun ideas for family time. This handout was created by Mary Hoon, AMFT.

More activities for children and adolescents from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.