Tips to Help Your Child Regulate Their Nervous System
When we’re not feeling our best, it’s common to feel tense, frustrated, sad, irritable, or even angry. It can be hard to figure out what’s needed in the moment to feel at ease and settled. The part of our nervous system that controls breathing, heart rate, digestion, temperature and our emotional state can be working in overdrive without us even being aware of it. Imagine how much harder it is for your child!
As a parent or guardian, it’s important to have a few different ideas in mind when helping your child learn to settle their nervous system. Here are some of my favourite techniques:
Deep breathing
Deep breathing is an excellent way to help calm the nervous system and quickly impact how your child is feeling. Guide your child to breathe in through their nose as long as they’re able, then breathe out slowly through their mouth with their lips pursed.
Some different ideas to help with this activity are: blowing up a balloon, blowing bubbles, blowing slowly through a straw in water, or even blowing out with a pinwheel they’re trying to keep moving as long as they can while blowing out.
Get their body moving
Teaching your child to move their body when their nervous system is feeling dysregulated is a skill they can use throughout their life. Movement stimulates the release of endorphins (our body’s natural stress relievers) and can help them feel better overall. When it comes to kids, keep things simple: get out for a walk, have a dance party in your living room, or even go to a nearby playground.
Name what they’re feeling
Learning to name what we’re feeling is not an easy skill, so try to get as much practice in with this with your child as possible. Have them to explain what is happening and what they’re feeling. Practicing this can help them to feel more in control of what is happening and will help them in the future when they feel the same way.
Find something they enjoy and can do no matter how they’re feeling
One of the most common things I recommend to parents and guardians is finding something that brings their child joy that can be done even when they aren’t feeling well. This could be as simple as putting on their favourite movie, listening to their favourite music, reading their favourite book, having a warm bubble bath, or even telling silly stories or jokes.
Read more about vestibular physiotherapy for children or contact me with your questions. If you’re located in Ontario, feel free to use the button below to book a free consult call.
Updated: November 2, 2024