When children are feeling anxious and overwhelmed, it is important to help them manage those feelings before they become too big or are held in to the point where the child “explodes.”

 

Calm down kits are a great way to help with these big feelings and it is something that the child can create for themselves, or have their parent or caregiver join in.

 

Anything can be incorporated.  The goal is to engage the child’s senses (touch, sight, auditory, taste, smell) to soothe or distract them when they are feeling low level frustrated, angry, sad or any big feeling.

 

Things to get:

  1. A box or storage container they like or that they can decorate themselves (to put the items in)
  2. Stress ball (you can make these with balloons and experiment with different textures. If the child likes the feeling of slime etc, then something like hair gel could be close to that texture, but you can also use things like flour, rice, sand.)
  3. Balls – squishy or spiky
  4. Colouring items (sketch book, adult colouring books, printed mandelas/colouring pages from the internet, pencil crayons or markers)
  5. Puzzles or brain teasers
  6. Clay or play dough
  7. Pictures or mementos of people and places that make them happy
  8. Fidget toys
  9. You can include items that have the child’s favourite scents (essential oils, cards sprayed with it, if they have a favourite scent.)
  10. Favourite foods that can be stored in the box, in moderation an example of this would be hard or gummy candies.
  11. Craft items they enjoy
  12. Books
  13. Journal

 

Let them have fun with this activity and be guided by the things they enjoy.
If you have any questions about this activity, feel free to email us at reception@brantmentalhealth.com

 

This information was provided by Registered Social Worker, Brianna Kerr.

Brianna has over ten years of experience working with children and youth in a variety of settings. Her areas of practice have included domestic violence, trauma, and anxiety. She works with children between the ages of 4 and 18 years old at Brant Mental Health Solutions.