My kid had a hard day today. A REALLY hard day. We’ve basically been in the house since his school closed last Monday because of the pandemic, so we’re still getting adjusted to the homeschool life. Every day has its mix of struggles and smiles. Today was no exception.

In the midst of a fit, he had a complete meltdown, tears flowing, borderline hyperventilating, and saying over and over “I want to go to school!”. His little brain has not been able to comprehend why he was doing school at home and why I was the one teaching him. He’s been in a school-type setting since he was 5 months old, so needless to say that his is extremely unfamiliar territory for him.

The tears kept coming and he was unable to calm himself down. That’s when I was glad that I had this book, Breathe Like a Bear. I asked him if he wanted to go to his room with me and pick a page to do.

The book is filled with breathing exercises geared towards young kids. One of our favorites is Hot Chocolate and that was the one that my son chose today. We sat on his bed, as the tears still streamed down his face, and within a few minutes of doing the Hot Chocolate breathing exercise, he had calmed himself down and felt better.

I’m not an expert on child wellness, but had I not had this book to pull out today, I don’t know how long it would have taken for him to calm down. Child mindfulness (even adult mindfulness) is new territory for our family. It will not work for everyone, but today I’m thankful that it did.

Open yourselves to new ideas and new methods of coping as we all step into unknown territory. The unfamiliar can be scary, but if we do not find ways to cope and adjust, the fear will completely overtake us.

Be well.

Holl