When your kids experience big emotions, they may feel stressed or overwhelmed. By resting and recharging through relaxation, your kids can calm their bodies and brains as they navigate their way through those feelings. Practicing deep breathing is a great way to relax! Plus, evidence shows that mindfulness techniques such as deep breathing can improve concentration, help decrease pain, regulate emotions, or ease anxiety.
When doing these deep-breathing exercises, get comfortable. You can lie down, sit, kneel, or whatever you need to do to get in a comfy position. Count softly during the inhale, hold, and exhale to keep a consistent rhythm. Repeat each breathing exercise 5 times or until your child feels relaxed. Take a look at some of our favorite deep breathing routines:
Belly Breathing
- Lie on your back. Close your eyes. Put your hands on your belly.
- Keep your mouth closed. Breathe in slowly through your nose and silently count to 8.
- Hold that air in your body while you silently count to 2.
- Slowly let the air out through your mouth or nose and count to 5.
Buddy Breath
- Find a buddy and lie on the floor next to each other.
- Have your buddy place their head or hand on your belly.
- Take slow deep breaths and play attention to your buddy moving up and down.
- Switch roles or try this with your own hands.
Dragon Breath
- Sit or kneel. Make sure your head is looking forward, your spine is tall, your chest is high, and your shoulders are back. Next, close your eyes.
- Keep your mouth closed. Breathe in slowly through your nose and silently count to 8.
- Hold that air in your body while you silently count to 2.
- As you let the air out, open your mouth wide and stick out your tongue while you count to 5. Imagine you are releasing fire like a dragon.
Flower and Candle Breath
- Sit or kneel. Make sure your head is looking forward, your spine tall, your chest is high and your shoulders are back.
- Pretend you a holding a flower.
- Take deep breath in through your nose and pretend you are smelling the flower.
- Now pretend you are blowing out a candle as you breath out.
Rainbow Breath
- Stand or sit tall with your arms straight at your sides.
- As you breathe in, move your arms up above your head.
- As you breathe out, move your arms back down to your sides to make a rainbow.
Volcano Breath
- Stand or sit tall and start with your hands in front of your heart with palms touching.
- Keep your hands together and reach over your head as you breathe in.
- At the top, separate your hands and move your hands down to your sides while breathing out, just like lava flowing.
Whale Breath
- Stand or sit tall and take a deep breath in, hold your breath while you count to 5.
- Tilt your head up, pretend you’re peeking out of the water and blow all of the air out.
For more breathing techniques, check out some of our favorite follow-along videos:
- Countdown to Calm: A Calm Down Activity for Kids - Here's another great video to use if you're looking for more relaxation resources.
- Relax with Dakota: A Mindful Meditation for Kids - This kid-friendly guided meditation video is a great tool to use when your kids need a visual guide to relax. It's available in Spanish, too. Check it out!
- Animal Breathing Techniques - We have even more animal-themed breathing exercises for you and your kids to follow along with here!
How do you feel after those breathing exercises? Practice them often and soon your kids will be able to self-regulate like professionals! Being aware of feelings and emotions is the first step to managing your mood.
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