Helping your child find an environment to feel calm, secure, and relaxed.
Take a Pause with a Quiet Corner
Kelly Rojahn
When you are super stressed, what do you do to help relieve that stress? When you are extremely frustrated, how do you calm down before you explode on the innocent family member that happens to talk to you next? When you are upset (mad or sad), how do you handle your emotions before proceeding with the next activity?
Think honestly about your answers. For me, I need some quiet time. If I am super stressed, a quick workout and some happy endorphins help me power through. If I am extremely frustrated, some deep breaths help me to calm down before I speak. If I am upset, a bath helps give me some time to think through my emotions.
Now let's translate this into the world of littles. They also feel stress, frustration, sadness, and anger. My kiddo sometimes needs that same quiet space that I do before entering back into play or before talking out something that went wrong or was upsetting. Enter our space where our kiddo can feel calm, secure, and relax. We don't really have a name for our space but I like to think of it as our Quiet Corner.
In this space, we set up a rug, comfy chair, and books. We've also included some tools that can be used whenever they are needed: headphones, calming breathing exercises, yoga poses for kids, a stress ball, and a favorite stuffed animal friend. We often include books relevant to difficulties or discussions we are currently working through. For example, "Hands Are Not for Hitting" by Martine Agassi, "Voices Are Not for Yelling" by Elizabeth Verdick, "Positive Ninja" by Mary Nhin, "I Can Do Hard Things" by Gabi Garcia, or "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud.
If you have a quiet space in your house? If so we'd love to see it. Snap a pic and share it with us on social media (@fit4mom_madison). We'd love to see what you include in yours. If you haven't tried a quiet space before, give it a try!
Kelly is a coach with FIT4MOM Madison and also holds a MA in Early Childhood Education. You can typically find Kelly at one of our Body Boost classes.
References
https://selmar.edu.au/2020/05/quiet-time-important-children/
https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/apr2018/backpack/guiding-your-childs-behavior