Calm Toddlers And Preschoolers In a Flash With This Fun Technique

Be a S.T.A.R.

You're about to discover a fantastic secret used by many childcare providers and parents. Very few people are aware of this, but it works like a charm.

In order to get the attention of a group of excited young children, try saying one of these phrases:

"Look at my eyes."

"Look at my nose."

or

"Look at this wart on the end of my nose!"

As soon as you get their attention, say and do the following

slowly and with intention. Wait until they smile before moving on to the next steps.

S mile

T ake a Breath (like smelling a flower)

A nd

R elax (let your breath out)

If things are getting tense, you may need to repeat this several times (especially the smile part), but I guarantee that when you do, you'll feel an instant sense of calm, and so will your children. I know it's hard to smile when you're not feeling it, but try to force yourself anyway, because it's scientifically proven to help.

This technique is used in the Conscious Discipline method by Dr. Becky Bailey.

Early Childhood Rocks is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building more peace, equity, and empathy in the world through early childhood education.

If you're dealing with a difficult child or difficult children, give yourself a break and hit the reset button.

At early childhood rocks!, we talk about boundary setting in developmentally appropriate ways. If you need help setting boundaries around hitting or hurting, you can get this short, straightforward guide written by an early childhood scholar with over 45 years of hands-on early childhood experience with a small donation to our non-profit organization.

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Nanci J Bradley is an early childhood and family educator, author, teacher, family aerobics instructor, and an all-around fun-loving person. She believes in the power of sleep, healthy eating, lifelong learning, and most of all, PLAY!  She studied early childhood ed at Triton College and received her BS in education in 1986 from NIU. She received her MA in human dev from Pacific Oaks College in 2011. She lives and teaches in Madison WI and is the founder of early childhood rocks, a non-profit org dedicated to creating change through early childhood education.