5 Fun and Effective Relaxation Strategies For Anxious Kids

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Kids face a lot of stress and anxiety in their daily lives, and it can be tough to know how to help. Luckily, there are effective strategies you can use to help your child manage stress and anxiety. By focusing on practical techniques like deep breathing, mindfulness, and movement, you can equip your kids with the tools they need to navigate their anxiety.

Let's get right to it. Here are some tried-and-true, kids' coach-approved strategies to help your anxious kids with getting their calm on, along with several resource goodies tucked inside:

Relaxation Strategies for Anxious Kids

Deep Breathing Exercises

Deep breathing exercises offer many benefits for your child, including reduced stress and anxiety. These exercises help your child focus on the present moment, slow down their thoughts, and regain control over their emotions. Since breathing is something they naturally do, kids can practice these exercises almost anywhere. Whether your child is feeling anxious, stressed, or just wants to improve focus before a test, deep breathing can make a big difference.

When working with kids, I tell them to breathe in through their noses like they're smelling a flower, and breathe out through their mouths like they're slowly letting the air out of a balloon. Practice taking 2 or 3 of these slow deep breaths with your kids, anytime, anywhere. Deep breathing is something we always have free access to, and it lets the brain and body return to a more balanced state of calm.

A really great thing about this is that if we practice taking deep breaths when we're not stressed, our bodies are more likely to have this skill 'kick in automatically' when we need it. Deep breathing can easily become a routine thing that we do to self-calm and feel better. It helps to regulate and slow down our breathing, increase blood flow, reduce overall stress, and improve our focus.

Mindfulness Activities

When we're feeling stressed, it can be tough to feel comfortable being in our own bodies. Mindfulness activities can help kids develop a deeper connection with their bodies, allowing them to fully relax and find relief from anxiety and stress. While most kids might not be able to sit still for a lengthy meditation session, there are many fun activities kids can do to get in touch with their bodies and reduce their feelings of stress and anxiety. Here are a few ideas:

• Color Breathing: Kids can use colored crayons to breathe in and out of different colors to help them focus on their breathing, slow down their thoughts and relieve feelings of anxiety or stress. Here's a short guided imagery video for color breathing without the crayons.

• Drawing/Sketching: Drawing or sketching can help kids get in touch with their creative sides and focus on their breathing, letting go of their worries and feelings of anxiety.

• Yoga: Yoga exercises can help kids become more comfortable in their bodies, help them focus on their breathing and promote feelings of relaxation.

Favorite Yoga Poses for Kids

Yoga is one of the best relaxation strategies for kids. Yoga poses for kids are really fun and yoga in general can be done sitting down, standing up, or lying down, making it a great option for anxious kids who struggle to sit still or focus.

When kids have a yoga routine, they can do yoga at any time, whether they are feeling stressed or anxious or just want to relax. There are many yoga poses that can help kids find relief from their feelings of stress and anxiety. Here are some ideas:

• Fish Pose: Fish pose can help kids calm down, focus on their breathing and relieve feelings of anxiety. In fish pose, you lie on your back with your feet together and hands relaxed alongside your body. Place your hands underneath your hips, palms facing down. Lift the upper body off the ground. Allow the torso, chest, and shoulders to lift while resting the crown of the head on the floor/mat. Keep the lower body on the ground. Hold the pose for a few deep breaths or so.

• Butterfly Pose: This pose can help kids relax and calm down, especially if they are feeling anxious. In butterfly pose, you sit on the floor and bring the soles of your feet together and try to sit up as straight as you can. Then hold onto your feet with both hands and gently move your knees up and down as if your legs are butterfly wings. Kids can imagine what color their wings might be. They can close their eyes and focus on their breaths as they breathe in and out.

• Cobra Pose: This pose can help kids focus on their breathing, reducing feelings of anxiety and promoting relaxation. In cobra pose, you lie on your belly with your legs stretched out behind you. Bring your hands flat to the ground under your shoulders. Using the back muscles and the core, lift up and hold the pose for a few breaths.

Meditation/Guided Imagery

Meditation and guided imagery are great strategies you can use to help your anxious child calm down. These techniques help your child focus on their breathing, reduce anxiety, and promote relaxation. You can use them individually or together. For example, have your child close their eyes and imagine a peaceful place, like a beach, to help them feel calm and at ease.

When introducing meditation or guided imagery to your child, make sure they are in a quiet, distraction-free space to help them focus and benefit from the techniques. Let your child pick a technique that appeals to them, whether it be a guided meditation or imagery, and make it as easy as possible for them to benefit from the technique. Here are some great meditation scripts for kids. 

This great book is full of

fun and effective relaxation strategies to help anxious kids gain control over their emotions and manage their stress.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive muscle relaxation is another strategy that can help kids de-stress and relax. This technique involves contracting, then relaxing, different muscle groups throughout the body to help kids focus on their breathing, reduce anxiety and find relaxation. Kids can do this technique alone, with a parent or even as a group activity. If your child is comfortable with it, you can even massage their muscles to help them focus on their breaths and reduce feelings of stress and anxiety.

It can be helpful to create a chart that outlines all the muscle groups for your child to reference as they go through the progressive muscle relaxation technique. This will make the process easier for your child and help them remember which muscles to focus on. You may also want to provide your child with a massage ball, like a squishy ball, which can be used to help them focus on their breathing and relax their muscles.

Whether your child is feeling overwhelmed, has difficulty falling asleep, or wants to learn how to relax, these five relaxation strategies for anxious kids can help them gain focus, reduce anxiety and find peace. From deep breathing exercises, to yoga, to mindfulness activities, these strategies can help anxious kids find relief and allow them to take a break from the stressors and challenges of everyday life.

Did you know there are foods that can actually help reduce anxiety?

Read our post: Good Mood Foods to Help Reduce Anxiety for Kids and Families

All blog content shared through HealthSmart! Kids is for informational purposes only and not to be construed as medical advice. Always talk with your qualified health care provider for managing your health care needs.