🧘♀️ Time In – Helping Kids Tune In and Regulate Over the Holidays
Time in for kids wellbeing means helping kids tune in to what’s happening inside them — their thoughts, emotions, and body signals — in a way that feels safe and supported.
During school holidays, emotions often run high: excitement, boredom, frustration, overstimulation. Time In offers gentle moments to help kids notice, name, and process those feelings.
This is the sixth blog post from our School Holiday Wellbeing Series exploring Dr Dan Siegel’s Healthy Mind Platter — a framework for balancing kids’ emotional and mental health over the holidays. If you want to read other parts of the series, see the overview here »
🌟 Why Time In Matters
- Builds emotional awareness → Kids learn to name feelings and recognise body clues.
- Supports self-regulation → Time In helps calm big emotions and create space to reset.
- Encourages resilience → By understanding emotions, kids learn they can cope.
- Deepens connection → Sharing Time In moments builds trust and co-regulation.
🛠️ Practical Ways to Add Time In (No Yoga Mat Required!)
- Ask “How’s your heart today?” or “What’s your weather inside?”
- Use a feelings chart or emotion cards to help younger kids name feelings.
- Make a “feelings wheel” or spinner — spin and name the feeling.
- Draw today’s mood as a weather scene (stormy, sunny, cloudy).
- Use emoji cards or magnets on the fridge to share how everyone’s feeling.
- Sit quietly and listen to music or sounds in the room.
- Lie under a blanket fort and take deep breaths together.
- Do a “5-4-3-2-1” grounding: name 5 things you see, 4 hear, 3 feel, 2 smell, 1 taste.
- Watch a candle flame or snow globe settle slowly.
- Blow bubbles slowly and watch them float.
- Pretend to be slow animals (sloths, turtles) and move mindfully.
- Try slow-motion races — who can walk across the room the slowest?
- Explore simple yoga poses like “cat-cow,” “child’s pose,” or “mountain.”
✅ Reflect after tricky moments (without blame)
- After a meltdown or fight, help kids reflect: “What was your body telling you?”
- Make a comic strip or drawing of “what happened and what we learned.”
- Use toys or puppets to act out emotions and solutions.
- Write or draw a “redo plan” for next time.
✅ For neurodivergent or sensory-sensitive kids
- Use visual supports (mood thermometers, colour zones).
- Offer Time In during favourite sensory activities (slime, water play, sensory bins).
- Provide weighted items (lap pad, blanket) during reflection moments.
- Create a “calm corner” with soft lights, stuffed animals, or fidget toys.
- Share music and talk about how it makes you feel.
- Journal together (or side by side) about holiday highs and lows.
- Go for a drive and talk — sometimes sitting side by side helps teens open up.
- Do a “family pause” — everyone takes three deep breaths before dinner.
- Make a gratitude chain or jar — each person adds one thing daily.
- Play “rose, thorn, bud” or “high/low” at the end of the day.
💡 Parent Tips
⭐ Keep Time In simple — you don’t need fancy tools or long talks.
⭐ Model it yourself — “I’m noticing I feel a bit tense, I’m going to take a breath.”
⭐ Offer it, don’t push it — kids engage best when it feels safe and voluntary.
⭐ Remember: noticing, not fixing, is the goal.
⭐ Celebrate small moments — noticing one feeling or breath is a win!
You can learn more about Mindfulness for Kids here!
💬 When to Reach Out
If your child struggles to recognise or manage emotions, or you feel stuck supporting them, we’re here to help. Our team offers neuroaffirming psychology support in Mount Waverley, Melbourne, and via telehealth across Australia.
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