You may have heard of or seen a calming corner, and may have questions-what age can I begin to use a calming corner? Where is the best place to set up a calming corner? How much do I need to spend? The long and short answer is, that the space can be as simple or elaborate as you like! You can use the space for infants and up, tailoring the materials and environment to your child's needs as they grow.
We can all use a place to cool off, calm down, collect our thoughts, and rest after becoming over stimulated, exhausted, or dysregulated. It shouldn't be used as a means for "time out" or punishment, but as an area where your child can practice emotional regulation and awareness, and express their big emotions in a safe space. Today I'm going to tackle how to create a calming corner for your child.
1. Choose your space (Here are some examples)
Under the stairs space
An unused closet
Den
Hallway nook
Corner in your playroom
A fort from cushions, small teepee, small camping tent, or fort furniture like Fort or Nugget are all great options too!
2. Item ideas:
Soft, comforting items like stuffies-(warmies are one of my favs), beanbag chairs, pillows, and blankets are great for a calm space.
For Infants and young children:
-A soft play mat or blanket is a safe cozy option and can help to define your space.
-High contrast visual toys hung from an activity center
-soft books and toys
-calming visuals like sensory bottles
-Inflatable water mat,
-Relaxing music
-A simple feelings chart for young toddlers to introduce what our feelings look like
For Older children
A feelings chart to practice easily identifying their emotions. Here is an example
A journal for older children
I love these hoberman spheres to practice deep breathing (There are tons of different sizes too).
These mindful kids cards are also a great introduction to mindfulness, relaxation and awareness of their bodies.
A sensory bottle (here is a link for DIY) and here is one to purchase.
Books about emotions and calming strategies (Here are some of my favorites)
Art supplies for drawing and doodling
Lighting and environment-
A fort from cushions, small teepee, small camping tent, or fort furniture like Fort or Nugget are all great options too!
Utilize and under the stairs space, den, hallway nook, corner in your playroom
The best thing about this space, is that you make it your own, for your child(ren) and what works for you. Switch out items as your children become older and more self-aware. Feel free to try any of the items listed above, and let me know other great items you discover for your very own calming corner!
How to use your space-
You can begin with identifying emotions with the use of a visual-I created a poster and then printed it off onto a easily removable wall decal from Walgreens (see below for a link to purchase this editable form on my TPT Store, or feel free to create your own!) While pecs, emojis, and other drawn images are useful for identifying emotions- for my poster I chose to use pictures of my daughter's face as I find that for the youngest who will be using calming corners, real pictures are easiest to translate in identifying their emotions.
Start small! If you look at my feelings chart poster, I've only included 4 emotions-Happy, Sad, Angry, and Excited. The beauty of the calming corner is that you can update your posters and visuals as your child becomes more self-aware and develops greater understanding of their feelings.
Incorporate books about feelings and emotions into the space to help with understanding. Read these to familiarize your child with the wide range of emotions we all experience.
After your child begins to understand their emotions, you can begin to introduce activities to help calm their body when experiencing big emotions like becoming angry or upset and sad.
Over time, the idea is that your child will independently use their corner, spot, or space to process these emotions in a healthy way before returning to another activity.
Model how to use the space-especially for older children. Play a game together, lose, become upset, and model how you can go to the quiet corner to safely express your emotions, take deep breaths, read a book, use a sensory calming bottle, etc. and talk about your feelings!
**Remember, the space isn't meant to be a place for punishment, but rather a safe place to experience our biggest emotions, work through them, and learn about ways to calm our body!
Show me pictures of your calming corners!