Chocolate milk resting momentĀ
This exercise is a short relaxation exercise.
Have your child(ren) sit in a quiet place. Talk yourself in a calm and soft tone while presenting the exercise.
Afterwards, also discuss the usefulness of this exercise with your child:
'When the house is very busy and loud, I could use a quiet moment like this. When could you use some peace and quiet?
In this way, collect a whole number of concrete example situations. When the situation arises, this exercise can help your child calm down.
You don't need real chocolate milk for this exercise.
The exercise works on imagination and has already been practised in class. Does your child still find this difficult, or is today just an ideal time for real chocolate milk? Nothing stops you getting a real cup of hot chocolate anyway!
Say to your child(ren):
'When I want to unwind, I take something warm to drink. A chocolate milk, for example! We pretend to hold a cup of hot chocolate. Do you join us?Ā
'I stir it gently. It is wonderfully warm on my hands. I bring the cup closer to my nose and breathe in very slowly and deeply through my nose.'
On exhaling you say:
'Mmmm I smell the delicious chocolate milk.'
Do this again: inhale deeply and slowly and again on exhaling, for four counts, say:
'Mmmm.'
Pretend to put the chocolate milk back on the floor in front of you for a moment and say:
'If I just think about my chocolate milk and do these little steps very slowly, I can almost really smell it. It makes me calm and happy. Will you try it with me?'
Repeat this exercise several more times.
