25 Best Calming Activities for Special Needs Kids

• Calming Activities for Special Needs Kids

Your toddler keeps bouncing off the wall and is into one thing after the other. Nothing seems to keep them calm and sitting for just five minutes. You desperately need a break, but you’ve exhausted all your options. Sound familiar?

Here are 25 super fun calming activities for your child! Not only will these help your child relax, but they will also give you a much-needed break!

Yoga

Yoga is a great way to calm down your child. There are many YouTube videos or books to teach yoga poses that are perfect for kids.

Painting

Painting is a form of art therapy. If your child is upset and struggling, painting will help them healthily release their emotions. They might even love to paint all the time afterward!

Quiet Book

Quiet mindfulness books or busy books are also great ways to relax your child. Frequently these will have some sensory play along with it, making it more calming for them!

Toy Car Wash

Children love playing with water, so have them bath their cars! Have them line up their toy cars and wash them one by one. If you have rideable cars, you can also make a fun large car wash they can go through with electric cars or bikes for some summer fun outside!

Dishes

Toddlers love to wash the dishes, mainly because they love bubbles and playing in the water. Have your child wash your dishes one day when you need a calming break. This calms them down because they focus intently on getting the dishes clean. It will also teach them to be responsible!

Water Play

Many other great water play calming activities are great for messy play, sensory play, and for keeping your child calm. When all else fails, a bath is great water play! Add some essential oils in Epsom salt for a calming experience to the bath.

Sand Play

Sand Play is another great activity that will relax your child and keep them quiet and busy. Playing in the sand is a great sensory play that brings many amazing benefits other than a calming experience.

Gardening

Gardening helps bring nature to your child. When a child is in nature, they naturally calm down. This also will help your child be responsible for taking care of something such as a vegetable or flower plant.

Bubble Wrap

Bubble wrap or the Pop Its game are great calming activities for kids and adults! There is just something relaxing about popping bubbles. If you don’t have these, blowing bubbles is also a great option.

Pom-Poms and Pipe Cleaners

These are two items you probably already have in your home. Grab a bunch of pom-poms and pipe cleaners and let your child’s imagination run wild. These craft supplies will keep your child busy for a long time as they learn new ways to play and create with them all the time!

Playdough

Playdough is always relaxing for children. If you are making your own playdough, adding some lavender, tangerine, or other relaxing essential oils to your dough. This will add to the sensory experience and keep your child calm as they play.

Blocks

For many kids, building with wooden blocks or Legos can be very calming. However, this all depends on your child’s age. Kids that can easily get frustrated when the blocks are knocked down may struggle more with this activity than others.

Forts

Let your child build a fort in the house! Grab all the pillows, and blankets, and set off to make a fort together. Then, when you are done, lay in the fort together and enjoy each other’s presence. They will feel like a safe place for your child and will naturally calm them down.

Paint the Shower

Make some paint with food coloring and shaving cream or whipped cream for an edible sensory experience. Then, have your child “paint” the shower and bathtub. Kids love getting things messy, but the best part is that it is super easy to clean when down; just turn on the shower!

Scavenger Hunt

Create a scavenger hunt based on your child’s age and experience, and let them run free. This will teach them the independence to figure it out on their own and relax them as they go around the house to figure it all out.

Tape Race Cars

Create a race car track with painter’s tape on the floor. Then, your child can race their cars all around the house. Playing with toy cars is always relaxing for a child.

Ice Cube Painting

Freeze some ice cubes with food coloring. Then, set them out on a plate outside, and sprinkle some baking soda on top. Then, squirt vinegar on the ice cubes and watch as the cubes bubble and melt all together, creating beautiful colors. This is a fun science experiment that will mesmerize your child!

Shape Sorters

You can make your own or find a store-bought shape sorter. These are relaxing to your child as they try to focus on the different shapes and sort them correctly and efficiently. Again, this depends on your child’s age and how upset they become when things get difficult.

Painting the House with Water

This is very inexpensive and super fun! Grab a paintbrush and a bucket of water. Then, have your child “paint” the outside of your house! They will enjoy this activity while you have some time for yourself to relax!

Reusable Stickers

There are so many reusable sticker books that all kids love. Some you can have as window stickers to decorate the house or use them with books to create a new story. Stickers always help relax a child.

Puzzles

Make sure to give age-appropriate puzzles, so your child doesn’t get frustrated and give up. Puzzles can be very relaxing and calming for kids of all ages!

Color Matching Game

This can be done with just about anything. You can put some construction paper out with different colors and have your child find things around the house with the same color to fill up the paper. Or use colorful blocks, crayons, buttons, or anything you find around the house.

Meditation for Kids

There are tons of YouTube videos on guided meditation that are made specifically for kids. You can also find many fun kid-friendly apps geared toward mindfulness and meditation. This is one of the best calming activities for kids.

Glitter Bottle

Buy a pre-made or make your glitter bottle. These can be used only when your child needs to calm down or whenever. They are so fun to make, and the craft itself can be relaxing!

Nature Walk

Enjoy nature together with your child as you walk around. Being in nature is automatically calming. Find different things to look for in your environment to ground your child. Then, practice mindfulness and teach them to focus on their breathing.

Hopefully, you have a few new ideas for calming your child down. These activities should help keep your child busy and relax them for a bit. What other activities do you do to calm down your kids? Share them below! “Calming Activities”