Wind Down Together: Calming Activities for Parents and Toddlers
If you’re tired after a long day of work or parenting, it’s pretty likely your kids are, too. And the prospect of bath and the bedtime routine might be less than appealing. It is possible to incorporate some relaxation time to help you unwind together. Here are some wind-down activities for parents and children to do with your toddler or pre-schooler, either after dinner or as an excuse for some quiet time.
You can make a shortlist of these and keep it handy for you to refer to whenever the need strikes.
Focus on Movement
Winding down together helps to strengthen your bond, and increased connection can improve the chances of your child cooperating, respecting boundaries, and making life a lot easier. And what better way is there to release stress than to bust some moves and have a giggle?
Dancing in the kitchen together with your favourite tunes is especially mood-enhancing, given the fact that cardio exercise is a great way to boost endorphins and release negative energy. For family-friendly workouts, the Peloton app or Joe Wicks could provide some good alternatives.
If you’re feeling mentally and physically exhausted already, energetic bouncing may be the last thing your body needs. Instead, you could try some gentle movement sequences together with a short family yoga session like this one from Cosmic Kids on YouTube.
Mum of two Louise Harris, Mindfulness Coach and Yoga Instructor at The Mindful Being, agrees that doing yoga together can be a great bonding experience. Louise is one of our experts at Parent List, and she advocates the practice as the perfect way to “create magical moments and lasting memories” for you and your child.
When you’re already short on time, the thought of making any effort to purposefully move can feel overwhelming. To make things easier, the Parent List app (coming soon) provides short, gentle movement sequences for you to follow when the mood takes you. You can find out more about the app’s features here.
Sensory Activity Ideas
Sensory play isn’t just for children. Using the 5 senses (touch, taste, sound, sight, smell) raises awareness, making it easier for you both to connect and be present with each other.
Below are some quiet toddler activities which can be enjoyed together to soothe you both, or you can simply watch and take a much-needed breather. (Safety first! Never leave your child unattended, especially around water and with small items that may cause choking).
Play-Dough
The classic sensory-play activity is perfect for focus and creating calm, encouraging hand-eye co-ordination. There are lots of play-dough recipes online to whip up a quick load at home, but if you are really short on time, you could buy some ready-made in bright or pastel colours. Why not try creating a fairy garden or farmyard together?
Sand
Playing with sand can be really therapeutic. Add in lots of tools for filling and pouring and use old combs/brushes, or simply your fingers, to make patterns through the grains.
Rice, Pasta or Hoops
Running your hands through uncooked rice or threading some dry cereal hoops onto a piece of string to make a necklace is another great way to focus the mind and calm down for a while. Get some paper, some PVA glue, any dried pasta you have in the cupboard, and create a work of art together.
Mud Kitchen while Gardening Together
If you have space outdoors, you could do some “gardening” together, which can help to feed their curiosity for growing flowers and vegetables. While you’re potting up and enjoying the soothing effects of soil through your fingers, set your little one up with a potting station of their own to sow some seeds or make some mud pies.
For messy fun, add some old plastic cups and kitchen utensils (that you don’t mind getting dirty). You might want to give this one a miss if you can’t face the clean-up afterwards.
Water Play
Water is renowned for its calming effect and healing properties, so it’s no wonder it’s a great go-to for sensory play. Best of all, it can be enjoyed simply in the bath or outdoors on a warm sunny day. A washing-up tub of water with some plastic cups, a jug, and a few waterproof toys on a practical surface is all you need to create some relaxing water fun.
Benefits of Sensory Play for Both of You
Sensory play helps your little one to learn about the world around them, and on a developmental level, creates connections in the brain to help with future complex tasks and thought processes. It helps with cognitive growth, motor skills, and is great for helping your child be mindful too.
While those benefits are significant, sensory play can be great for you, too. Getting down to their level creates a wonderful bonding experience and provides you with the unmissable opportunity to see the world through their eyes.
Explore Food Together
While cooking might not be the first thing to come to mind as a calming activity for toddlers, there are ways to incorporate food into some wind-down time with your little one. Mum of two Nicola Ragon-Paxton, registered nutritionist and co-founder of Happy Tums, suggests repetitive activities such as shelling peas or picking tomatoes from the garden, which can be quite therapeutic. Mixing bread dough can be an excellent stress buster, and everyone can enjoy the sensory benefits:
“It’s a great way to [relieve] some tension or simply calm down with the ‘springy’ feeling from the dough. The food can be a good starting point for conversations ... like how things grow, where they grow ... and also focus on tasting by closing eyes and really being mindful.”
If you do want to try cooking together, Nicola has some tips to make things easier.
“Making sure some of the decisions are made in advance, prepping the area, and making sure everyone has a space to work can help. [Also try] reading through a recipe together and looking at pictures so they know what the end result will be.”
Other Relaxing Activity Ideas for Toddlers and Pre-schoolers
Set up a reading nook with some blankets and cushions and snuggle up together for a story or watching family movies.
Take some tablet-free time – do a jigsaw together, play some board games, try painting or spend time together doing some mindful colouring.
Practice deep breathing techniques – make it fun by pretending your lungs are an inflating balloon and let the air out slowly again.
Listen to music together.
Make your own stress balls together.
Blow bubbles.
Take a stroll outside and look for things together to help you connect to nature.
Encourage the imaginary play ideas below. (Image courtesy of BBC Tiny Happy People)
Schedule a family movie night for your favourite films.
It’s lovely to be able to experience connection and mindfulness with your child. It’s also a great idea to try and find some ‘Me Time’ for yourself, too. For further help with managing the mental load of parenting, the Parent List app is designed to provide quick-reference list-based content. You can sign up for free here.
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