31 Jan Muscle Relaxation for Children

Adapted by Angela Ranallo from Dr J Irvine “who’d be a parent?”

• Hands and arms: get them to pretend to be squeezing an orange. When it’s all squeezed out they let it drop and let their muscles relax.
• Arms and shoulders: get them to pretend they are a cuddly cat that’s stretching, raising their arms high over their head, back to their side, out in front, up to the ceiling, and finally dropping down by their side.
• Shoulders: let them pretend they are a turtle sensing danger, pulling their head in tight into their shoulders, right up to their ears if they can. When the danger passes they relax and come back out into the warm sunshine.
• Jaw: let them pretend they have a hard caramel in their mouth. They bite down on it hard and then let their jaw relax. Repeat.
• Face and nose: let them pretend an annoying fly lands on their nose and they have to get him off by wriggling and wrinkling their nose. He flies away, but comes back so they repeat it.
• Stomach: let them imagine that the muscles in their tummy are all twisted and knotted like the roots of a tree. Then they imagine little leaves falling to the bottom of their tummy, one at a time, gently landing, and as each one lands it un-knots the muscles a bit.
• Legs and feet: let them pretend to push their toes down into soft mud that’s oozing around. They push down, spread their toes, then they step out and relax, and then back they go again.

Please contact Angela Ranallo for more information