Relaxation Exercises For Children

Playing is part of the integral development of the child. The little ones have to run, jump, dance, get dirty and move. However, sometimes they also need to relax and rest assured. We offer you a series of relaxation exercises that will offer great benefits to their physical and mental health.

Through these techniques they will be able to reduce anxiety, stress, insomnia and will be able to better control their emotions and behaviors. In addition, they will improve their mood. The best part is that achieving this calm state doesn’t have to be boring, but it can also be achieved by combining the two. Welcome to playful relaxation. 

Relaxation exercises for children

Methods of Jacobson and Schultz

Jacobson’s is one of the most widely used methods in the world. It is based on the contraction, on the back relaxation of different muscles or muscle groups.

Simply, by placing ourselves on the ground, we can indicate to the child which parts of the body to keep tense for a few seconds. And then relax. Thus,  the child will notice a progressive relief  that will extend to the whole organism. We can start with individual muscle groups such as the hand and neck and then increase the difficulty once he is familiar with it.

Schultz’s autogenic method, on the other hand, is one of the relaxation exercises for children that can be performed from the age of 6. The technique is divided into two levels: the lower and the upper and is based on the sensations of heaviness and heat.

Once lying on the ground, the child is asked to focus on the areas of the body that he notices heavier  (such as the legs and arms) and that have a higher temperature. After he stops feeling like this and feels free from any tension and weight, we can do it with other upper parts of the body. Thus, we gradually relax all the muscles.

To facilitate the execution of the instructions, we can make the child think that at first he is like a robot, that is, he will have to perform only rigid movements. Then, in order to relax, he will have to transform into a cloth puppet, and his body becomes soft, devoid of muscle tension.

Rejoue’s game

Rejoue’s game is one of the most fun. In French  rejoue  means to replay, so let’s put it into practice!

This method proposes that the essence of  life  is composed of pairs of opposites:  hot-cold, black-white, activity-rest… This technique brings together relaxation exercises for children based on these pairs.

The child will perform  the swing, which is to imitate the movement of the scale. This sets almost all muscle groups in motion to move forward, backward, to one side and the other. This duality leads the child to contract certain parts of his body and relax others. Only this lack of tension will allow him to realize the swing well.

Another game is stretching. Children are taught to differentiate between the sensation of stretching and relaxing. For example, the child is asked to open his arms and extend them as far as possible to all sides. He has to hold this position for a couple of seconds. Then he is asked to relax them again. He will feel a certain tickle after doing this several times.

Activities between companions

In some cases, children run after each other and it is difficult to calm them down. And it is much more difficult to get them to stay focused after those moments of excitement. This  activity can be a good ally in such cases. 

Its execution is very simple, just play some relaxing background music and divide the group into pairs. One of the members lies down, while the other strokes his body with a feather following the rhythm of the music. And then, the positions change.

A similar game is that  of the soft ball, also to be done in pairs. One of the two children lies down with his eyes closed and the other massages his body to the rhythm of music with a small ball. As if she were to soap him.

Pleasant image views

If there is one skill in which children are truly privileged, it is the imagination. They are so free and innocent that we can afford any license to relax them. In that sense,  a good way to calm them down is through visualization.

To do this, they need to get down on the ground and focus on breathing for a couple of minutes. He is then asked to focus on what we are about to tell him. We will ask them to imagine a large and green field; silence and a quiet meadow with perfectly short grass. We tell them to feel  how that field smells, how the birds sing or to perceive the texture of the flowers.

The visualization of images can have multiple applications and can range from beach, mountain or smell landscapes. As we see, the possibilities are as wide as the imagination is vast. The main goal is to make children relax by playing.

That is to say, they have to do it without them feeling obligated. For this reason, adults should also do the same. Recall that imitation is the main source of learning for children. These relaxation exercises, therefore, also apply to adults, because it is always nice to keep your innocence!