Are you looking for ways to help your child feel calmer, more focused, and better able to handle big emotions? Mindful breathing exercises can be a game-changer for kids – helping them self-regulate, reduce anxiety, and learn tools for finding peace within when the external world feels hard.
Let’s explore some simple, engaging breathing techniques designed specifically for children.
Why mindful breathing for kids is so important
Before diving into the exercises, let’s understand why mindful breathing for kids matters. When children learn to focus on their breath, they develop a powerful tool they can use anytime, anywhere to:
- Calm down when feeling overwhelmed or anxious
- Improve focus and concentration
- Better manage strong emotions
- Reduce stress and tension
- Fall asleep more easily
- Build self-awareness
- Feel more grounded and centered
- Build emotional regulation tools they can turn to throughout their lives as they grow into adults
The best part? Our breath is with us always – through every up and down of life.
Mindful breathing is completely free, requires no special equipment, and can be done anywhere – at home, at school, or on the go. So it’s the perfect tool to learn and use no matter what life throws your way.
7 Mindful Breathing Exercises Perfect for Children
1. Balloon Breath
How to do it:
- Have your child place their hands on their belly
- Ask them to imagine their belly is a big balloon
- When they breathe in, tell them to imagine the balloon filling up (as their belly expands)
- When they breathe out, have them imagine the balloon deflating (as their belly falls)
- Guide them slowly through 5-10 gentle balloon breaths
2. Stuffed Animal Breathing
How to do it:
- Have your child lie down and place their favorite stuffed animal on their belly
- Ask them to focus on making their stuffed animal rise and fall gently with each breath
- Guide them to take slow, steady breaths, watching their furry friend go up and down each time
- Continue for a few minutes, or until they feel calmer
3. Rainbow Breath
How to do it:
- Have your child raise their arms up as they inhale, making a rainbow shape
- As they exhale, have them lower their arms back down
- Optional: Have them imagine adding a different color to the rainbow with each breath
- Repeat 5-7 times
4. Hot Chocolate Breath
How to do it:
- Ask your child to pretend they’re holding a cup of hot chocolate
- Have them smell the imaginary chocolate with a deep inhale through their nose
- Then have them cool it down with a gentle exhale through their mouth
- Repeat 3-5 times
5. Five Finger Breathing
How to do it:
- Have your child hold up one hand, spreading their fingers wide
- Using their other hand’s pointer finger, have them trace up their thumb while breathing in, and down the other side while breathing out (alternatively, you can be the one to trace)
- Continue for each finger, moving from one finger to the next
- Repeat going back the other way towards the thumb if desired
6. Snake Breath
How to do it:
- Ask your child to take a deep breath in through their nose
- Then, ask them to make a hissing sound as they breathe out slowly through their teeth, imagining that they are a snake.
- Make it a fun challenge to make the snake’s hiss last as long as possible
- Repeat 3-4 times
7. Flower and Candle Breath
How to do it:
- Have your child pretend they’re holding a flower in one hand and a candle in the other
- Ask them to smell the flower in one hand with a deep inhale
- Ask them to blow out the candle in the other hand with a gentle exhale
- Repeat 5 times
When to use these breathing exercises
These mindful breathing exercises for kids work great:
- Before bedtime to help with sleep
- During homework time to improve focus
- When feeling overwhelmed, anxious, mad, or sad
- As part of a morning routine
- During transitions between activities
- Any time your child needs to find calm
For additional support in helping your child manage emotions and find calm, consider exploring Tapping for kids, another powerful tool that combines well with mindful breathing. Tapping is effective for everything from child anxiety to helping kids sleep better – and it’s well worth your while to explore!
This guided Tapping video for kids (led by a kid so it’s relatable!) is a great starting point. We have many sessions like these in The Tapping Solution App, where you and your child can explore a vast library of sessions from “Confidence for Kids” to “When Facing a Tough Challenge: Problem-Solving Quick Tap.”
Plus, Tapping is great for parents, too! Give a simple Tapping for Anxiety exercise a try – and see how it feels for yourself!
Tips for success with mindfulness breathing for kids
- Set aside some time every day. Children are very accustomed to doing things every day on a routine schedule, starting from their days as an infant. Breathing time can become just like meal time, brushing teeth time, or nap time, so they’ll get into a habit of practicing it.
- Have a special “breathing space.” Children associate their environment with specific activities. The crib is for sleeping, the high chair is for eating, the potty is for using the bathroom, and so on. A big fluffy pillow, a furry soft blanket, a colorful corner of their room, or a cozy sitting chair works great for a designated “breathing space.”
- Make it fun. We all know how quickly new habits fizzle out when they seem like hard work. And for children especially, you want to make sure that learning how to breathe mindfully is fun! The goal is to make it relaxing and enjoyable, not just another chore. That’s why so many of the breathing exercises for kids listed above use imagination and elements of play. 🙂
- Practice it yourself. Children learn by mimicking those around them, so why not set a good example? As a parent, teacher, or anyone who works closely with kids, using mindful breathing techniques yourself to release stress and other built up emotions won’t just provide a good example to follow, it will also do wonders for your own relaxation too. 🙂
- Ask your kids better questions. A part of mindful breathing is actually focusing on those negative emotions you want to release, while bringing in those positive emotions you’d like to feel. So for children, a big part of that is asking them the right questions.
For example, instead of asking, “How was your day today?” try asking more questions like, “What was the most exciting part of your day? Is there one thing that made you feel sad or angry today? When that bad thing happened, how did it make you feel? If you could change one thing today that would make you feel better, what would it be?”
Questions like these will not only encourage them to identify the parts of their day to practice mindful breathing with, it will also help to develop your child’s emotional intelligence, communication skills, self-esteem, and adaptability.
- Include some props. To add to the fun of teaching children how to breathe mindfully, include things like pinwheels, bubbles, wind chimes, or a stuffed animal “breathing buddy” they can practice with. Adding in sensory stimuli (sounds, colors, movement, touch, etc.) helps to associate the practice of mindful breathing with making things change.
- Offer some positive incentives. There will probably be days when it will be difficult to help your child to practice mindful breathing, so occasionally offering a positive reward like their favorite piece of fruit or extra playtime before bed will do the trick!
- Have your kids measure their feelings before and after breathing. Just like we do with the practice of EFT Tapping, you can have your kids measure their feelings before and after the breathing exercise. If they are feeling sad, ask them on a scale of 1-10 how sad they feel. Or if they don’t know numbers yet, have them measure with their hands. This can help them become aware of how breathing can change how they feel.
- Give lots of encouragement. Everyone thrives on encouragement, especially children! Let them know they’re doing great, even if it takes some time to get into the habit of mindful breathing.
- Pick up a copy of my book, My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing. Books are a wonderful way to teach children how to do lots of things, and I just love writing children’s books. “My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing” was created just for this purpose. With co-author Alison Taylor and beautifully illustrated by Michelle Polizzi, this picture book will help your child find a sense of calm through the magic of mindful breathing.
You can also explore our other kids books and resources on Tapping for parents, children, and teenagers here.
Make mindful breathing a daily habit
Remember, like any skill, mindful breathing takes practice. Start with just a few minutes a day and build from there. With consistency and patience, these exercises can become valuable tools your child can use throughout their life for better health and wellbeing.
Want guided support? Try our free Tapping meditations designed specifically for children in The Tapping Solution App, including all sorts of calming techniques designed just for young minds.
Until next time… Keep Breathing (and Tapping)!
Nick Ortner
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