Creating a Calm Down Space

2024-09-09

In this second episode of this re-introduction to the Returning To Us series, Lauren walks through how to build and use a calm down quiet space in your home or classroom. In the last episode, Lauren strategies for recognizing and categorizing emotional states - a critical step in emotional regulation.

Creating a quiet space to facilitate regulation is an easy way to help your kiddos with emotional regulation. This isn't a time out or punishment; it's a safe place where kids can go to focus on how they are feeling internally and employ emotional regulation strategies.

Lauren provides the steps necessary to setting up a quiet space in your home and teaching your young kids to use it in concert with the regulation strategies and temperature system introduced in past episodes.

Listener Question: Where do you get all the materials you use to create this?

Try-at-home tip: Create a mind space for your teens, tweens, and young adults.

References & Resources:

What Happened to You?
Interview with Oprah and Bruce Perry
Understanding the Window of Tolerance
Aaron Alexander's Website

Other related resources from The Behavior Hub:

Blog Post:

5 Reasons Behaviors Occur
Fight or Flight: Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)
Rest & Digest: Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)
Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Kids

Podcast:

Teaching Emotional Regulation to Toddlers
The Brain in the Palm of Your Hand
How on Earth Do We Deal with Misbehavior?

Our Online Courses:

Classroom Design with the Brain in Mind
From Conflict to Calm: How to communicate with kids so they listen the FIRST time!
4 Simple Steps to Problem Solving

Do you have a question? I can answer it in a future episode!