3 Simple, Effective and “Magical” Energy Tools to Use with Your Children

Let’s face it.  We can try to be as present and focused with our little ones as we want, but the world around us is moving faster and faster every day  As parents, we are pulled in a thousand different directions daily and try as we might, we are asking our kids to be dragged along with us.  These three tools not only support your child holistically, but they are easy for kids to grasp because they are cultivated in imagination, experimentation and play. 




Calm. Focus. Serenity.




Breathe.  Now I know you’ve heard this one before.  Even Daniel Tiger has gotten in on the action (thank you Fred Rogers Company).   But seriously, the number one way to calm your wee-cubs is to teach them how to breathe…properly by consciously engaging their autonomic nervous system, specifically calming the sympathetic (involved in the fight-or-flight reflex) and flipping on the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system. 




Here’s how: Before bedtime or during a naturally quiet time during the day practice helping your child breathe deeply.  Get your child’s favorite lovely, stuffed animal or origami paper cranes and boats work great too.  Then have your her lay down on her back and put “sleepy bear” (our fav) on top of of her little belly, right about at the navel. 




Breathing in (inhaling) - sleepy bear takes a ride towards the sky.




Breathing out (exhaling) - sleepy bear drops back towards the earth.




Repeat. 




Inhale, belly expands. 




Exhale, belly deflates and sleepy bear falls towards your child's spine and the earth. 




Bonus:  Belly breathing boosts your immune system and I know we are all looking for ways to keep our wee ones healthy. 







Clearing Out “Yuckies”




Every kid gets the “yuckies.”  Our kids are emotional and energetic sponges.  You know this intuitively even if you ignore it. Put them in an overcrowded shopping mall, make them hang with angry Aunt Gerta or unleash your bad day on those beautiful little souls you love the most in this world (we’ve all done this - no guilt Mama, NO guilt!). 




And viola! Yuckies! 




Signs your child has the yuckies: He is fidgety, withdraws from physical touch, displays either physical or subtle frenetic energy, is sad, mad, frustrated AND they’re behavior cannot be categorized into Maslow’s basic needs (hungry, tired, cold/hot, etc). Got it?  Then try this.




Here’s how:  Acknowledge or ask (if your child is old enough) if she has yuckies in her body. Describe what you are seeing.  For example, “I’m noticing that your seem really uncomfortable and are throwing your body against furniture and the dog.” :).  




Then explain that sometime we get yuckies in our bodies that we can’t see, but we CAN feel! Get confirmation that she understands.  Children get this easier than grown ups.  Trust me.  




Then ask her if she’d like help getting her “yuckies out?” 




Once you have permission, ask your child to close her eyes and then tell her to “light up the yuckies” inside her body. 




Again, don’t worry.  Kids get it. 




She will see all the places in her body that has yuckies “light up.”  This is just so your child has a visual in her consciousness of this unseen reality. 




Once the yuckies are lit up, tell her to flush (yes like the toilet) the yuckies into the ground so Mother Earth can recycle/compost them into something better and useful.  If you garden this will make perfect sense, if not, start a garden! <wink wink>




If you have time:  Have your little one do a body scan to make sure all yuckies are safely with Mother Earth.  If not, repeat until they feel “clear.”




Bonus:  New neuroscience and physics is showing the correlation between negative emotions and illness and even Dr. Oz says “energy medicine is the future of medicine.’ So out with the yuckies and in with vibrant health!







Bubble Up!  Energetic Protection for Your WeeOnes




Speaking of yuckies, let’s learn how to prevent them. K?! 




This has gotten me and my wee women through unfamiliar social events, overcrowd places, overwhelming emotional situations and everyday stressors. 




Use this powerful tool when your little ones are feeling scared, anxious or just needing some protective reinforcements while those he loves most are away. This is also an effective tool to use with highly sensitive kids who are frequently overly stimulated either sensually or emotionally. 




The first time you implement this you will have to explain to your wee ones that you have a special tool for them to feel safe.  Ask them if the’d like to learn it and get their permission to teach it. 




Here’s how:  Tell your child to imagine a big, huge egg of light around her entire body.  If she is having a hard time “seeing” it, you can tell her to create it out of her heart, shooting love out of her heart into a big bubble around her entire body.  Got it?  Good. 




Next ask her what color she would like her bubble of light to be…red, white, sparkly?  My girls have started adding things like fairies and baby animals to their bubbles…anything that makes them feel safe. Perhaps they have a favorite saint or relative that they feel looks over them, anything goes as long as it is from the child. My littlest LOVES baking and her bubble now includes cupcakes. :) 




Finally, and this is VERY IMPORTANT, set the intention that ONLY LOVE goes in and out of the bubble. I say, “this bubble is only permeable by love” and that seems to do the trick. <wink>




So there you have it.  Three easy schmeezy energy tools to support your little ones in this fast paced, over scheduled world.  Pssst…these are also good for grown ups. <wink wink>




Bonus:  This tool can be used on the fly once your kids have got it down.  Just the other day we were rollin’ up to a WAY overcrowded birthday shindig and my littlest started to say, my tummy hurts Mama.  I quickly asked her to put up her bubble and all was well.