Here is a fun way to help your child (and yourself) relax their body, which will help to decrease stress and tension, and should make falling asleep easier. This is a great exercise to do with your child before bed but can also be done any time during the day. If you notice a certain body part feels more achy or tense, focus on that area a couple of times throughout the day.
Here’s how it works:
(Before bed) Turn on a sound machine or soft music for white noise. Turn the lights down.
Start with the toes. Tell your child to curl them under as hard as they can like they are squishing them in the mud. Hold this for a few seconds and then relax. Do this 3 times.
Then move on to their feet, legs, belly, arms, hands, shoulders, and then face. Be sure to do each muscle group one at a time, hold the muscles tight for a few seconds and then release. The more creative you can be as you go through each body part the better. For example, for shoulders, you could stretch both arms up like a cat.
Be sure to point out the difference between feeling tense and relaxed.
At the end, have your child tense all of their muscles, hold for a few seconds and then relax like a floppy spaghetti noodle!
This is a fun way to end the evening and help your little one relax before bed. It works just the same for adults so be sure to do it with them!
~Alison