| |
|
|
| How Deep Breathing Can Help Your Child Manage His Hyperactivity and Emotions Back to Building Blocks: Parenting the Whole Child | |||
| by Dr. Caron B. Goode | |||
|
There are many basic and complex emotional issues which children encounter. Feelings of frustration while trying to stack blocks, sadness when a parent yells at them, and hyperactivity and depression from ADHD (Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder) are examples of the range of emotion being dealt with by young people. Our goal of teaching children better breathing habits should stem from a sincere desire to make their lives better, not solely to make ours easier. Children will naturally be active and extreme, but abdominal breathing is a tool which, when grasped by a child, can help them to have better control over the expression of their emotions and hyperactivity. My Child is Not Hyperactive You’ve heard that phrase. Astonishingly, though, teachers of five year old Jacob said that he could learn more about sitting still and controlling his frustration. This was not really news to the parents. They had already experienced many moments of crazy, uncontrollable behavior with Jacob. Jacob has been a pretty intense child from early on. He would constantly line up his cars, planes, and crayons into straight lines. Toys were grouped into similar colors. Everything had to be orderly. Jake’s frustration would become overwhelming when his skills were inadequate to perform the way he wanted. He used to cry or hit his head with his hand in order to vent these frustrations. He even demonstrated slightly obsessive behaviors, such as pinching his cheek before swallowing a bite of food. Most of these things were just odd to the parents. And some of the behaviors created a surefire trap for extreme frustration and anger. Jacob’s father, Brian, became concerned about Jacob's high expectations of himself. Brian started working with him in two areas. The first was simply to institute the concept of "It’s no big deal" into Jake's thinking. If he dropped his spoon or spilled a drink, it became “No big deal!” to the parents, who verbalized the phrase often. For a long time, this made little difference in Jacob's attitude. Now, however, he's the one explaining the same concept to his little sister. The second way Brian began encouraging Jacob was to breathe deeply, slowly, and fully. Whenever Jake would start to whine, cry, or begin to unravel emotionally, Brian would sit him down, have him look directly into his eyes, and start to breathe deeply. His process was to breathe in through the nostrils then exhale through the mouth. They would do this as many times as necessary to calm Jacob down, usually about seven times. The parents found that this easy process of deeper breathing gives Jake a practical, tangible tool to use in order to manage his own emotions during stressful moments. Brian caught Jacob alone in his room, taking a break from the Legos or wooden trains to breathe and calm himself down. The parents are now beginning to do this with their two-year-old, whose passion is starting to kick into full swing. Simple and Not Intrusive The pleasure of abdominal breathing is that it is so accessible. There is no dependence on drugs and no requirements to use it, other than learning to be in tune with your own emotions. This simple coping mechanism is perfect for children because, once understood, they can draw upon it easily in social situations without becoming embarrassed or needing to get help from an adult. The non-intrusive nature of abdominal breathing also has obvious benefits. When you consider that three to five percent of children in the United States suffer from ADHD and that medication prescriptions for this disorder have increased dramatically in the last decade, it is encouraging to realize a technique available to us which actually increases health. Connections have been found between metabolic instability and ADHD sufferers. Through abdominal breathing, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood become balanced, which means that a child’s metabolism also becomes normalized. Let Children Be Children It is so easy to over-analyze children, trying to figure out why they are so energized, so vocal. One of the best things we can do to promote the emotional stability of our children is to accept them just as they are. Showing them, embracing them with love gives them a foundation to grow on. But during those moments of chaos, which are sure to come, abdominal breathing can be an invaluable tool for their encouragement, independence, and strength. © by Caron B. Goode, Ed.D
| |||
| More from Dr. Caron Goode | |||
| Intro to Parenting the Whole Child Helping Children Cope with Trauma Parenting Questions & Answers | |||
|
|
|
