Does your child struggle with keeping her emotions in check? Do you want to know how to calm a child when she is angry, upset, or otherwise emotionally overwhelmed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When a child is in the grip of an emotional takeover\u2014whether she is upset, angry, or hyper-excited\u2014it may feel you don’t know how to calm a child. But, the simplest way to calm her down is through physical movement to relax her or get her energy out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is how to calm a child using physical movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
When your child\u2019s in the midst of an emotional takeover, physical movement can help her to calm down. Not only does your physical state reflect<\/em> your emotions\u2014for example, causing your muscles to tense when you\u2019re anxious\u2014but research shows that physical actions can also influence<\/em> your emotional state, which means that you can counteract intense emotions with deliberate physical movements. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you recognize that your child is upset and needs to get moving, always empathize and connect with her emotionally first. Then, there are two ways to introduce movement: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ages 0-3<\/strong>: Once you\u2019ve connected emotionally, find a playful way to get her to move\u2014for example, suggest you race to the other side of the house, tickle her, or play follow the leader. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ages 3-6<\/strong>: You\u2019ll probably have no trouble getting a child this age to move around. You may even find it helpful to discuss her emotions while moving\u2014for example, play catch while you talk about what made her feel angry.\u00a0That’s how to calm a child at this age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ages 6-9<\/strong>: As your child gets older, there are more ways you can get her moving, such as going for a bike ride or doing yoga. Explain to your child how her upstairs and downstairs brains work, and why moving will help her to calm down and give her the power to have more control of her feelings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ages 9-12<\/strong>: Clearly explain this strategy to your child, so that she can not only practice it with you, but also get into the habit of using it on her own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n People of all ages flip their lids every now and then. When you feel like you\u2019re about to flip your lid at your child, follow these steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does your child struggle with keeping her emotions in check? Do you want to know how to calm a child when she is angry, upset, or otherwise emotionally overwhelmed? When a child is in the grip of an emotional takeover\u2014whether she is upset, angry, or hyper-excited\u2014it may feel you don’t know how to calm a child. But, the simplest way to calm her down is through physical movement to relax her or get her energy out. Here is how to calm a child using physical movement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":23378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[186],"class_list":["post-23371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting","tag-the-whole-brain-child","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nTips for Using This Strategy at Different Ages<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Tips for Parents to Avoid Flipping Their Lids<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n