Kate Silverton Instagram – Quick ten minute tip for both PLAY and BONDING
Anything that’s patterned, repetitive and rhythmic can be very soothing for our brain stem … when this part of our brain feels soothed, it can lead to calmer more contained behaviour in our children …
All you need is a ball and a small area to play ‘catch’… observe how your child throws the ball – do they engage easily, do they throw it with force, do they try to make you run for it … just notice it to yourself and remember to smile, to be playful, ‘wow you are making me run for this one !’ Or ‘ooh you are showing me you can throw it HARD!’ Then, depending on the age of your child you can throw in some reflections as I have just done with my son – who told me ‘it’s boring just throwing back and forth’ … I asked him to notice his frustration, and to see if he could work with me to find ‘flow’ in just throwing it back and forth … I explained how our brain can find it soothing when we do something together that’s in rhythm .. and we got there .. the four of us, throwing and catching the ball, mixing up the turns and finding joy in being together in flow.
Being playful, having eye contact, spending just ten minutes engaged in focused play with our children can have a huge impact on their behaviour, and their ability to focus on tasks and in play.
Make time to play… and see how your relationship with your child benefits – and how your mental wellbeing benefits too ♥️
Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below – what games do you play with your children that help you to find ‘flow’
#play
#playfulness
#parenting
#parentingtips
#halfterm | Posted on 01/Jun/2024 20:00:04
