Last time I touched on the theory that when children are struggling, you take them outside or put them in water. I talked in depth about the power of outdoors last time so this time I want to talk about putting kids in water or using water to help them re-regulate. This one, honestly, has been more of a game changer for my kiddo with trauma. As I mentioned previously, when my kiddo gets too hot, the dysregulation increases, so you can see why this might be a problem with playing outside.<\/p>\n
Also, I realize that water might be a trigger for your child, especially if there was abuse that took place involving water\/bath, so obviously you\u2019ll have to assess what things will work in your home. But for my kiddo, anything water has been fantastic.<\/p>\n
So, why does water work to help combat dysregulation? Well, I believe it is similar to being outside. Water is a natural material and being in contact with it (or immersed in it), you would expect to have the same kind of results as being outside. I personally believe that it\u2019s part of the reason giant garden bathtubs and whirlpools are as popular as they are; when I hear others talk about enjoying a soak, they are always wanting it to help them relax. Makes sense, right?<\/p>\n
So, what are some of the ways my kiddo enjoys water? First up, this kid loves to swim. Before we moved a couple years ago, we had a neighborhood pool and we were there almost every day during the week. We didn\u2019t go on the weekends because it was too crowded, but we would go first thing in the morning Monday through Friday and nine times out of 10 we had the pool completely to ourselves. It was generally pretty cold in May and even in June, but by August, it felt like bathwater, regardless of the time of day. So, an hour or more a day in the pool would be super helpful, even when he was not dysregulated; so much so that I often used it as a preventative measure.<\/p>\n
The other thing I found to be very helpful for him are his baths. Sometimes we\u2019ll even set up a phone across the way so he can\u2019t reach it, and let him watch a movie while he\u2019s in the tub. We usually use Epsom salt and maybe a bath bomb or bubble bath or essential oils or all of the above. Letting him have choices about what he wants to include usually helps entice. And we usually have a much calmer child by the time he gets out. We\u2019ve taken baths in the middle of the day and found that it can have lasting effects for the rest of the day. There\u2019s truly something about the immersion in water.<\/p>\n
Now that he\u2019s older, the baths aren\u2019t as \u201ccool\u201d so we mostly opt for a shower. And while it\u2019s not quite the same, it definitely still has it\u2019s benefits. Again, I equate it to the desire as an adult, to take a shower in the evening and let the day \u201cwash off\u201d you.<\/p>\n
Those are some obvious ideas and I know that a pool might not be accessible to you all the time (I will say it\u2019s the one thing I miss from our former neighborhood!). So, what are other options?<\/p>\n
There are lots of other ways you could help your child enjoy the power of water, but hopefully there are some suggestions here you can pull out when you need it most.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Kris<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last time I touched on the theory that when children are struggling, you take them outside or put them in water. I talked in depth about the power of outdoors last time so this time I want to talk about putting kids in water or using water to help them re-regulate. This one, honestly, has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kriss-corner"],"yoast_head":"\n