Tammi Kirkness, a Sydney-based Life Coach, takes a look at some of the more surprising ways to help soothe anxiety in kids.
When our kids worry, we’d do nearly anything to help them feel better. Many of us are familiar with calming worried little minds through deep breathing and exercise, so let’s take a look at some of the more surprising ways to help soothe anxiety.
5 ways to help soothe anxiety in kids
1. Gargling
Gargling water helps to stimulate the body’s largest cranial pathway called the vagus nerve. When this nerve is stimulated it regulates the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for initiating a feeling of calm and the return to a feeling of safety.
2. Do ‘Ragdoll’ Pose Together
If your child talks about having too many thoughts in their head, the yoga pose ‘ragdoll’ is a beautiful activity to do.
To do this, stand up together and then bend over like you’re going to touch your toes. Once you are upside down, hold on to your elbows while dangling forward like a rag doll. Picture all the unhelpful thoughts falling out of the top of your heads. After about 20 seconds, gently stand back up.
3. Consciously worry
Help your kids free their anxieties by having a really good go at worrying.
To help lift up and shift out the concerns, set a timer for 5 minutes and have them choose how they’d like to get them out. They might like to say them out loud, whisper them into a toys ear, draw them in a picture or write them down. When the timer finishes it’s time to stop worrying. Afterwards together take a deep breath in and out and if they were drawn or written, discard the paper.
4. Rolled tongue breathing
If your child is hot and flustered, have them roll their tongue and breathe in and out three times.
Prompt them to notice if the air seems cooler as they breathe it in this way. This is a breathing technique from the yogic tradition to help cool someone down, both physically and emotionally. Roughly three to four out of five people can roll their tongue – if it doesn’t come naturally to your child, don’t force it.
5. Have them release other people’s feelings
Kids who are particularly empathic frequently feel the feelings of others. Once this increased emotional sensitivity is acknowledged and managed, it can be a gift later in life. However, it can often cause emotional fatigue in the short term and is worth keeping an eye on. To help them release any feelings that aren’t theirs, have them repeat this out loud after you, ‘Even though I care a lot about others, it’s not my job to feel other people’s feelings. I choose now to breathe out all feelings that aren’t mine.’ Have them take a big, deep breath in and breathe out everyone else’s worries and feelings.
Tammi Kirkness is a Sydney-based Life Coach who specialises in holistic wellness and anxiety management. She’s studied under monks in the south of India, has a background in psychology and coaches 1:1 clients around the globe.
Tammi’s newest book, ‘The Panic Button Book for Kids’ is now available.
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