A nice, quiet evening whilst eating pistachios turns into an opportunity for Juniper and I to practice our deep breathing -- all because Google played the wrong song.
I'm sitting in my comfy chair, just minding my business, eating my de-shelled pistachios when I hear Juniper crying. Google had played the wrong song. Ugh... can't even eat my pistachios in peace.
My natural reaction is to downplay the situation, but I use the Opposite Action Technique to keep my mouth shut: Opposite Action, Behavioral Activation, and Exposure.
When Juniper says that she "can't" ask Google to play the song for her, I remind her that in this household, we say "I can't yet but with practice I will." Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.
I take a deep breath and help Juniper label her emotions, which helps calm her down: Helping kids identify and express feelings.
We then use the brain breathing technique from The Whole-Brain Child in order to help our upstairs brain hug our downstairs brain: Upstairs And Downstairs Brain.
Other breathing techniques you can try:
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