Decompression ideas

Hi there,

My daughter is 5 and I can relate as she gets angry and frustrated at times and needs to decompress. As much as she likes fidget toys (we use a variety of squeeze toys, textured, malleable things etc) they don't honestly help her at her times of anger. She would probably throw it if I gave it to her at the wrong moment! Things I find that do help her are, yoga and meditation techniques. Check out Cosmic Yoga on you tube - it has all sorts of yoga stories for girls and boys along with some meditation exercises called 'peace out'

She also adores playdoh and slime. Anything she can dig her hands (and feet!) into are winners! YouTube has all sorts of recipes for making your own slime if that's something you would be interested in. There's also therapy putty you can get on amazon for people with arthritis that is great as it has different levels of resistance if they want to really work their frustrations out on it! She loves blu- tack and popping bubble-wrap also. My daughter also needs time alone when she gets overwhelmed and having somewhere they can go and be happy and comfortable is vital. I had made a wee den under my computer table for my daughter during lockdown, which she helped me decorate but she didn't use it much if I wasn't with her and when I asked her she couldn't tell me why. It then occurred to me that, even with the light I had in there, it was quite dark. She doesn't like the dark - so I bought her a tent with all the sides open so its brighter and she loves it. The other thing you could do is add some sensory lighting to a den as she loves anything glowing such as, fibre optic lights, infinity mirror, led coloured light strips etc... Amazon has all these things available. Also sign up to pinterest as it gives me so many sensory play ideas such as tuff trays (also on amazon) and sensory arts and crafts (puffy paint fun using shaving cream and pva glue)

I also recently bought a bath pillow and let her just 'float' in the bath and she loved it! I could see her totally relax and she was able to concentrate on just that for a few minutes which was lovely to see.

I hope this helps you in some way! My daughter is happiest when she is kept busy and she loves arts and crafts as a way to express herself and how she feels at the time.

Hi there,

My daughter is 5 and I can relate as she gets angry and frustrated at times and needs to decompress. As much as she likes fidget toys (we use a variety of squeeze toys, textured, malleable things etc) they don't honestly help her at her times of anger. She would probably throw it if I gave it to her at the wrong moment! Things I find that do help her are, yoga and meditation techniques. Check out Cosmic Yoga on you tube - it has all sorts of yoga stories for girls and boys along with some meditation exercises called 'peace out'

She also adores playdoh and slime. Anything she can dig her hands (and feet!) into are winners! YouTube has all sorts of recipes for making your own slime if that's something you would be interested in. There's also therapy putty you can get on amazon for people with arthritis that is great as it has different levels of resistance if they want to really work their frustrations out on it! She loves blu- tack and popping bubble-wrap also. My daughter also needs time alone when she gets overwhelmed and having somewhere they can go and be happy and comfortable is vital. I had made a wee den under my computer table for my daughter during lockdown, which she helped me decorate but she didn't use it much if I wasn't with her and when I asked her she couldn't tell me why. It then occurred to me that, even with the light I had in there, it was quite dark. She doesn't like the dark - so I bought her a tent with all the sides open so its brighter and she loves it. The other thing you could do is add some sensory lighting to a den as she loves anything glowing such as, fibre optic lights, infinity mirror, led coloured light strips etc... Amazon has all these things available. Also sign up to pinterest as it gives me so many sensory play ideas such as tuff trays (also on amazon) and sensory arts and crafts (puffy paint fun using shaving cream and pva glue)

I also recently bought a bath pillow and let her just 'float' in the bath and she loved it! I could see her totally relax and she was able to concentrate on just that for a few minutes which was lovely to see.

I hope this helps you in some way! My daughter is happiest when she is kept busy and she loves arts and crafts as a way to express herself and how she feels at the time.