Exercises and games that can help a child deal with stress

War affects children differently than adults. Staying in shelters, forced relocation, loss of the environment they’re used to, loss of familiar friends, toys – these and other factors can cause anxiety and stress in children. To help deal with them, the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine has shared a number of relaxation exercises for children.

Important! Find a quiet place. Explain the rules of the game in language that is understandable and accessible to the child. You don’t have to do all the exercises at once. Watch your child, assess how involved they are, try again later.

1. Flower and candle

Imagine that you’re holding a fragrant flower in one hand, and a burning candle in the other. Slowly breathe in through your nose and imagine that you’re smelling the flower. Then slowly exhale through your nose, imagining that you’re blowing out the candle. Repeat several times.

2. Lemons

Imagine walking up to a tree and plucking two lemons, one in each hand. Squeeze the lemons hard enough to squeeze out the juice – squeeze, squeeze, squeeze! Throw lemons on the floor and relax your hands. Then repeat until you have enough juice to fill up a glass of lemonade. After the last squeeze and throw, shake your hands to relax them.

3. Lazy cat

Imagine that you are a lazy cat who has just woken up after a pleasant long sleep. Yawn widely. Murmur “meow-meow.” Now stretch your arms, legs and back like a cat, slowly stretch out and relax your body.

4. Feather and statue

Imagine you are a feather flying in the air for about ten seconds. Suddenly you freeze and turn into a statue. Don’t move! Then slowly relax, turning into a feather flying in the air again. Repeat several times. Finish the game as a feather in a relaxed state.

5. Stress-relief ball

Make yourself a stress-relief ball. For example, you can fill balloons with dry peas or rice. Take the ball in your hand (you can take two in both hands), squeeze the ball and relax your hand. Experiment with squeezing the ball (change the compression speed, strength, duration).

6. Turtle

Imagine you are a turtle going for a slow, relaxing walk. Imagine that it suddenly started raining. Roll tightly in a roll under your shell for about 10 seconds. Imagine that the sun has come out again, so you can get out of the shell and continue walking. Repeat several times. Finish the exercise with a walk to keep your body relaxed.