Sleepy Bodies

The basic idea

Take a big deep breath, slowly breathe out, then say “Oh! My arm’s gone to sleep!” Completely relax one arm – you or your wee one can flop it about and it just falls back, completely relaxed. Gentle pats can wake it up again.

Over to you, wee one

Ask your wee one “I wonder what other bits of my body I can put to sleep?” and pause so your wee one has time to choose. Keep showing them deep, slow breathing before the next body part falls asleep. Then ask if they want to swap, so they take nice big breaths in and out and let different body parts go completely limp.

Cheeky bonuses

• Relaxation techniques
• Body awareness develops sense of self
• Laughter is a great stress buster, and this can be a really funny game

Variations

• Chat about different feelings in different body parts – nervous tummies, excited arms etc. – then breathe them away
• Maybe your knees are all jiggly and “out of control” before you breathe them to sleep

And remember…

Don’t expect your wee one to relax straight away, this game can be silly and fun and involve lots of wriggles and giggles too! They will learn how to relax their bodies as you play.