The Soothing Jar: A Sparkling, Sensory Toy To Calm Your Child
Does your child have a tantrum? Do they often feel anxious? Sometimes parents or guardians are overwhelmed because they do not know what tools to use to deal with situations like these.
That is why today we will find a very suitable technique for these cases: the soothing jar.
The soothing jar is a technique designed by Maria Montessori, educator and teacher, who also devoted her attention and efforts to many other interests.
Her main goal was to design a method to help the little ones have fun while learning. To do this, she focused on various activities to help children relate to their emotions.
The soothing jar, a technique for parents too
The soothing jar can be used not only by children but also parents and other adults. We find it difficult to take care of our emotions, deal with them properly, understand them and express them. Therefore, it may be good for many of us to try this technique.
The soothing jar is nothing more than a transparent container, either glass or plastic, where you have in glitter, water, glue and dyes.
It is best to let the child choose the colors of the glitter and let them make their own soothing jar. Here is a video on how to make it:
If parents do this fun activity with their children, they will soon be drawn into it as well. When you shake the bottle , the glitter moves in a mesmerizing way that really makes us feel calm. It catches our attention, makes us forget everything, and “empties” our heads.
The goal is to use the sedative jar when children are angry. The colors and the moving glitter will calm them down, help them forget what has caused their tantrums for a moment, and then they can talk about it much easier.
This technique is not a new form of punishment
Parents may think that this technique is a new form of punishment. Like just sending children into the corner of shame if they do something wrong.
But that is not the purpose here. After using the sedative jar, the situation has been reduced. Then you need to talk to them and help them express how they felt.
Why were they angry? What made them feel so upset? When emotions boil over, we can not think clearly.
But when we calm down, we can see the situation from a calmer and less radical perspective. That way, we may realize that we are overreacting.
This is what we want children to understand by using the soothing jar. This positive technique will teach them to deal with their emotions more effectively.
They will stop acting so impulsively, instead giving themselves time to calm down and then clearly analyze what has happened.
The key here lies in the time parents dedicate to their children: it must be enough for them to internalize and learn this technique effectively.
Sitting with them, guiding them during the process of observing the soothing jar, and then helping them express their feelings is very important.
Children often do not know what feeling they are feeling, why they are feeling it, what it is called, why it is there and what the purpose is. It is the parents’ responsibility to teach them all this and guide them in good emotional expression.
The truth is that many adults also have difficulty identifying and expressing their feelings. Therefore, this technique can be very useful for both parents and children.
It is mutual learning that everyone can benefit from, and it will allow both the little ones and the biggest ones to grow and improve their emotional handling.
