Teaching your children how to self-soothe

Is there more chaos than calm at home?

Create an easy home resource to help kids ‘reset’ their emotions!

Creating a home calming resource is a great way to introduce meditation to young people – helping you and your family to gather tools, ideas, and resources that can help them (and you) press the reset button when life, stress, and anxiety take hold.

As parents or carers, we all want our children to feel safe, happy, and secure. But life can be challenging, and even the most well-adjusted kids can experience stress, anxiety, or difficult emotions.

That’s where a self-soothe box can transform chaos to calm!

By creating a personalized box of items that promote relaxation, comfort, and mindfulness, we can help our children learn how to cope with stress and build resilience.

In this blog, we’ll share some tips for creating a self-soothe box for children that includes meditation and mindful skills.

What is a calming box?

A calming box is a self-soothing tool that can be used to help young people cope with stress, anxiety, or difficult emotions.

Normally, it is a box or container filled with items that promote relaxation, comfort, and mindfulness. The contents of the box are usually unique to the person who creates it, tailoring it to their personal preferences and needs.

What do you put into a calming box?

Here’s an example of some of the items that can be included :

• Scented candles or essential oils (smell)
• Stress balls or fidget toys (touch, sight)
• A journal or coloring book (touch, sight)
• Tea bags or hot chocolate mix (smell, taste)
• Photographs or other sentimental items (sight, touch)
• Soft blankets or pillows (touch, sight)
• A list of positive affirmations or uplifting quotes (sound, sight)
• A favorite book or movie (sight, smell, sound)
• A playlist of calming music or sounds (sound)

(We put the different senses in brackets to draw your attention to this – very important in mindful skills to tune into the sense).

The purpose of this calming, home resource is to provide a quick and accessible source of comfort and relaxation, especially during times of stress or distress. It can be used as a way to practice self-care and mindfulness and helps young people take responsibility for their wellbeing.

How to create a Calming Box for Children

Step 1: Choose a container

The first step is to choose a container for your child’s box. It can be a shoebox, a wooden box, or any other container that is large enough to hold the items you want to include.

Let your child decorate the box with stickers, markers, or paint to make it their own.

Step 2: Include items that promote relaxation and comfort

The next step is to gather items that promote relaxation and comfort.

We gave you some ideas above, but don’t limit the list to those; your children may have some fantastic, mindful ideas to share.

Step 3: Introduce meditation and mindful skills

Now that you have a collection of items for your child’s self-soothe box, it’s time to introduce meditation and mindful skills. Here are some ideas:

• Include an online *guided meditation or a mindfulness app that your child can listen to
• Write down simple breathing exercises or guided visualizations that your child can do
• Include a small bell or chime that your child can use to practice mindful listening
• Add a card with a simple mantra or affirmation that your child can repeat to themselves

Step 4: Practice using the home calming resource box together

Finally, practice using the box with your children.

Encourage your child to use the items in the box when they are feeling stressed, anxious, or upset.  Perhaps you can join in and practise, what they choose – this motivates children to try if they have your attention.

Over time, your child will develop their own strategies for coping with difficult emotions and will have a go-to source of comfort and relaxation.

Creating a self-soothe box for children can be a powerful tool for helping them cope with stress and build resilience. By including meditation and mindful skills, we can teach our children important life skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.

So gather your materials, get creative, and create a self-soothe box that your child will treasure.

What about teens?

If you want to learn how to create a virtual box for teens, then check out our tutorial (see below).

Curious about learning mindful skills to help children/teens feel calmer?

Take our easy tutorial to make your life (and your children’s) a bit more peaceful.  We’ll walk you through some of the ideas above so you can create one that works for your children.