Relaxation for children and adults.

Wachanga psychologist has recommendations for parents - how to act in difficult situations and maintain a good relationship with your baby.

Every baby at any age experiences different fears. It is important that they don’t turn into phobias. Being afraid is normal, and you should help kids overcome their fears.

Relaxation techniques will not only help children, but also teach you how to cope with some stressful situations.

Deep breathing

This is the easiest and most effective way to slow down, clear your mind and pay attention to the body. Suitable for almost everyone and extremely useful during a panic attack.

1. Take a deep breath in.
2. Hold your breath for a few seconds, as if you are breathing very slowly.
3. Exhale slowly.
4. Breathe like this with your baby until you feel more relaxed.

If your child is hysterical, or is too young to follow your instructions, first try to match their breathing - breathe in unison with them and gradually slow down until you are completely calm.

Tension and muscle relaxation

The bottom line is simple: strain and relax different muscle groups. Any exercise can be presented to the child as an activity or game. Repeat all exercises three times and explain what’s happening to the body at every moment. Be sure to perform all the movements together.

• Face: ask your baby to make faces, like they’re smelling something bad, then something yummy.
• Jaws: clench your jaws like an angry dog, and then unclench.
• Hands and shoulders: extend your arms towards the sky, stretching your whole body, then lower the body forward.
• Hands: throw each other a ball, squeezing it when it’s in your hands.
• Belly: flex and relax your stomach as if it were belly dancing.
• Feet and toes: try to firmly push your toes to the floor and relax.

Visualization

This method helps you relax the brain. Imagine a beautiful calm place and picture yourself there. Nothing around you, you relax, walk, lie on the grass. You can also do this - put on a video with a collage of pictures that you like.

Color visualization works well for children:

1. Have your baby tell you their favorite color and imagine it, which will begin to calm them down.
2. Ask your child to imagine that they’re “breathing in” this color, and the color spreads throughout their body, then being exhaled. Repeat this exercise a few times.

If your baby is very young, the aforementioned exercises can be replaced by an aromatherapy session with scents familiar to them or listening to some relaxing music.

Laughter

These are the best ways to help your baby relax if they can’t seem to calm down. Tell funny stories, make faces together, watch funny cartoons, laugh out loud. This will distract your kid from their anxiety and fears.

Embrace

Try to hug your baby as often as possible and learn to show positive emotions in relation to loved ones, pets and favorite toys. Hugs reduce high blood pressure and reduce the effects of stress hormones.

Do these exercises with your child, or better yet, with the whole family. Relieving stress is important for parents, because a baby’s mood largely depends on their parent’s mood.