Up and down, sweet bear
Lay down quietly together, on your backs, with your legs together and your arms against your body. Make sure you have enough space, that way you won't disturb each other. Place one hand on the belly, the other on the chest. Breathe in and out slowly.
Which hand moves as you inhale? Check this with yourself and verbalize it out loud. How does your child breathe?
- Some preschoolers will naturally do belly breathing and feel their hand go up on the belly when inhaling.
- Other preschoolers breathe with the chest and feel their hand on the chest moving up when inhaling.Ā
Tell your child(ren) that you can breathe with your chest as well as with your belly, but to calm down we try to breathe with the belly.
Thanks to the following exercise, your preschooler will learn calm abdominal breathing.
Gather the favorite teddybear(s) andĀ install yourself in a quiet place.
Enjoy this moment of connection with your child(ren).
Put a teddybear on your belly.
- Breathe in through your nose and let your belly get fat. Your teddybear will come up.
- Exhale past your mouth and blow out all the air for four counts. Your teddybear now comes down.
Repeat this a whole number of times.
Belly breathing is not easy for everyone. Encourage your child, but don't force it !
