The purpose of creating a calm down area is to provide a space to support the child in learning to self-regulate. It is a safe place for a child to take a break away from a stimulus that is causing stress, anxiety or anger (e.g., loud noises, having to share, feeling tired, or being excited). The child learns to identify overwhelming feelings and step away to regain self-control. Through this process the child engages in calming and relaxing activities and, once calm, is able to return to the activity or routine in progress. A calm down area should never be used as a time out or as a punishment.

There are a lot of different things you can include in a calm down kit and you will want to tailor it to your child(ren) and ensure the calm down area is supervised at all times. The kit should be readily available for both indoor and outdoor and can include:

1. Calm down visuals
2. Bottle of bubbles
3. Chewelry
4. Small puzzle
5. Fidget Toys
6. Weighted lap cushion or stuffed animal
7. Weighted vest or pressure vest
8. Stretchy resistance bands
9. Hearing protection ear muffs or noise canceling headphones
10. Book of yoga poses or printable yoga cards
11. Blank notebook and a writing utensil (crayons, pencil crayons, markers, or similar)
12. Sensory bottle or calm down jar
13. Skipping rope
14. Visual such as a kaleidoscope or an hourglass
15. Books to read
16. Activity books: dot to dots, mazes, word searches, I Spy, etc.
17. Stress balls
18. Play dough or silly putty
19. Photo album filled with photos of family and friends
20. Small blanket
21. Bubble wrap
22. Pinwheels – To encourage deep breathing and blowing out.
23. Rubik’s cube
24. Small chalk board and chalk or Boogie Board for doodling and drawing
25. Eye mask
26. Tissue paper to rip – Fill a bag with tissue paper and let children rip it up.
27. Light up toys and  flashlights
28. Plastic snow globe
29. Pipe cleaners to twist and bend
30. Colouring books
31. Scarves or fabric scraps
32. Spinning top
33. Mini massager
34. Scratch and sniff stickers
35. Whistle, harmonica, party blowers, or similar small wind instruments – To encourage children to breath out. Also, making music is a great way to release a variety of emotions.
36. Small mirror for making silly faces and exploring emotions
37. Straws to blow pom poms or cotton balls – A great oral motor idea to encourage deep breaths.
38. Body sock – Kids can retreat into a body sock for calming proprioceptive sensory input. Since they fold up relatively small, they make a great addition to a calm down kit.
39. Smelling bottles – Just fill bottles with calming scents, such as lavender.

Adapted from article originally published at:
http://www.andnextcomesl.com/2016/04/what-to-put-in-a-calm-down-kit-for-kids.html