Comfort Container
Help children take a quiet moment alone and soothe themselves.
Watch the video together. Explain that when we’ve having a big feeling, there are a lot of ways we can take care of ourselves. Big Bird uses his comfort container; talk about some of the things he has in it.
To make your own comfort container, invite children to decorate a box or bag (the size and material will depend on what you put in it; a bag like a backpack allows children to carry it from place to place). You might add:
- squeezy ball
- crayons and paper
- fidget spinner
- storybooks
- blanket
- photos of loved ones
- stuffed animal or doll
- fabrics of differing textures
- a small instrument like a kazoo
- bubble wrap to pop
- pinwheel for breathing exercise (breathe in deeply through the nose then exhale slowly out the mouth to make the pinwheel move)
When children are having a big feeling or a hard time, offer or suggest their comfort container and ask whether they’d like to spend a few minutes alone or whether they’d like you to stay with them, like Big Bird’s Granny stayed with him.
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