Self-control
Toddlers watch a stomach move up and down when breathing slowly and deeply to calm our minds and bodies.
[Invite several toddlers to join you to practice our breathing.]
We are learning how to breathe slowly and deeply. We can calm our minds and bodies when we breathe slowly and deeply.
Let’s all breathe in and breathe out slowly. We want to take a deep breath when we breathe in.
[Lead toddlers, standing or lying down, in breathing slowly and deeply. Draw attention to each part: taking a deep breath and breathing slowly.]
What happens when we breathe?
Air goes in and out of our bodies when we breathe. I am going to lie down so you can watch what happens with my body when I breathe in and out.
[Lie down, or invite a volunteer toddler to lie down, in front of toddlers. Place your hand on your stomach and demonstrate taking a deep, slow breath in and then out.]
I took a deep breath in and then I pushed the air out of my body. What did you see?
[Encourage toddlers to comment on your hand moving up and down with your breath. Example: “What happened with my hand when I took a breath in and out?”]
My stomach went up when I breathed air in. Please watch again.
[Demonstrate taking a deep, slow breath in, with your hand on your stomach.]
My stomach goes down when I breathe air out.
[With your hand still on your stomach, demonstrate slowly breathing out.]
Breathing air makes part of my body move.
I am going to practice breathing slowly and deeply. I am going to put my hand on my stomach so I can feel my stomach go up and down. Please watch my hand go up and down while I breathe slowly and deeply.
[Demonstrate breathing deeply in and out, with your stomach/hand rising and falling. Repeat several times to give toddlers the opportunity to view your hand moving up and down. Model feelings of calm and relaxation as you demonstrate breathing deeply and slowly.]
Breathing deeply and slowly can help us calm our bodies. Parts of our body move when we breathe deeply and slowly. What happened to my stomach when I took deep and slow breaths?
Self-control
Toddlers practice breathing deeply and slowly while placing a hand on their stomach to notice how their body moves when they are breathing.
None
Invite several toddlers to join you on the floor to practice breathing slowly and deeply. Remind toddlers that we can calm our bodies and minds by breathing slowly and deeply. Explain that parts of our body move when we breathe in and breathe out. Lie on the floor to demonstrate (or invite a volunteer child to demonstrate) how your hand placed on your stomach moves up and down when you breathe in and out deeply and slowly. Explain that the air you breathe in and out moves part of your body.
Invite toddlers to lie on their backs and put a hand on their stomach. Describe and demonstrate how our hand should be open, with all fingers touching our stomach. We should not make a fist with our hand. We want to relax our hand on our stomach. Some toddlers may need guidance in locating their stomach and placing their hand in an open position.
Invite toddlers to breathe in and out with you. Example: “I am going to take a deep breath in and then take a deep breath out. Please breathe in and out with me. Let’s see what happens with our hand on our stomach when we breathe deeply and slowly.”
Lead children in breathing in and out 3–4 times. Offer reminders, as appropriate, about breathing slowly and deeply, and keeping our hand open and relaxed on our stomach.
Pause to talk briefly with toddlers about what happened with their hand when they took deep and slow breaths. Restate and expand their comments. Emphasize that their stomach (as felt by their hand) went up and down as they breathed in and out.
Invite toddlers to practice breathing again, this time even more slowly. Example: “Let’s breathe deeply again. This time, let’s find out if we can breathe more slowly.” Provide individualized guidance to toddlers who report that their hand did not move up and down.
Recognize all forms of participation while encouraging toddlers to follow your actions.
Self-control
Toddlers practice breathing deeply and slowly while placing a stuffed toy on their stomach to notice how their body moves when they are breathing.
Small stuffed toys—1 per child
Invite several toddlers to join you on the floor to practice breathing slowly and deeply. Remind toddlers that we can calm our bodies and minds by breathing slowly and deeply. Explain (or remind toddlers) that parts of our body move when we breathe in and breathe out. Our stomach goes up when we breathe in deeply. Our stomach goes down when we breathe out.
Explain that we will practice breathing deeply and slowly by putting a small toy on our stomach. We can watch and feel the toy move up and down on our stomach while we breathe. We can pretend we are rocking the toy to sleep!
Demonstrate and describe the process of breathing deeply and slowly, while watching our stomach move, based on information in Options 1 and 2. Use a stuffed toy for your demonstration. Then provide a stuffed toy to each toddler. Encourage toddlers to join you in breathing deeply and slowly while watching the toy move on his/her stomach. Help toddlers get situated with their backs fully on the floor and a toy on their stomach. Lead them in breathing deeply and slowly.
After several minutes of breathing, encourage toddlers to tell what happened to the toy on their stomach. Were they able to rock the toy to sleep?
End the session by reminding toddlers that we can calm our bodies and minds by breathing slowly and deeply. Ask toddlers whether they like to practice breathing deeply and slowly and why.
You are likely to see differences across toddlers in the ease with which they focus on their breathing and take slow and deep breaths. Some toddlers may breathe deeply but quickly. Others may breathe slowly but not deeply. It can be challenging for toddlers to coordinate the three main parts of the activity: breathing slowly, breathing deeply, and paying attention to how their stomach moves. Provide attention to the part(s) of the process that seems most challenging. Although the use of a stuffed toy in Option 3 may have considerable appeal (especially the suggestion that toddlers rock the toy to sleep), Options 1 and 2 may be more helpful to toddlers in learning how to breathe slowly and deeply.
Some toddlers may intentionally breathe deeply and quickly to explore how their stomach moves, especially when a stuffed item is on it. This can be exciting to toddlers. Some may try to bounce the toy on their stomach. Explorations of this nature may help a toddler better understand the connection between breathing and stomach movement, but they do not support the goal of helping a toddler learn a practice for calming his/her body and mind. It may be helpful to acknowledge the fun of deep and quick breathing, and point out that the toddler is learning how moving air quickly into his/her body helps move part of his/her body. After positively offering this acknowledgment, it is important to encourage the toddler to return to the goal of the activity. It may be helpful to return to the activity at a later time or pursue Options 1 or 2 if placing an object on the stomach (Option 3) prompts too much excitement.
Extra support
Enrichment
Materials Needed: several teddy bears or other stuffed animals
Provide several stuffed animals in a calm area of the room. Invite toddlers to visit the space when they want to calm down. Invite toddlers to lie down and place a favorite stuffed animal on their stomach. Encourage toddlers to practice breathing slowly in and out while watching the animal rise and fall (Option 3).
Materials Needed: nontoxic bubble solution and wands, pinwheels for older children
Practicing how to breathe deeply and slowly can benefit children of different ages. Provide appropriate materials to help children notice their breathing. Example: take bubbles and pinwheels outside for children to gently “blow.” Toddlers will enjoy blowing bubbles, and babies can be soothed by watching the bubbles float in the air. Older children can practice using their breath to make the pinwheels turn as younger children watch.
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