Breathing exercises for preschool children

Breathing is the most important life support system for a person. But babies are born with an undeveloped pulmonary system, as a result of which, before the age of 7 years, they often get sick and catch viral diseases. You can strengthen the child’s immunity if you do simple exercises every day that strengthen your respiratory system. You can read about breathing exercises for children of different ages in this article.

What is breathing exercises?

What is breathing gymnastics? This is a set of exercises aimed at developing the pulmonary system. During classes, the child’s breathing becomes much deeper, a larger volume of lungs is involved, which means that more blood and oxygen begins to flow into them. Respiratory gymnastics is effective in the treatment of various bronchial diseases (including asthma), overwork, hyperactivity, insomnia and a number of other common diseases. Currently, breathing practices have earned recognition among doctors and millions of people who have been able to improve their health thanks to them. In medicine, there are many copyright and other techniques. Breathing exercises can be divided into those that are performed by the person himself, and those that are performed using various devices. The most popular non-hardware techniques include:

• Yoga - a well-known practice exists in the children's version. Of course, it is greatly simplified, but the most important element, the asanas, remained in baby yoga. During the exercise, there is excellent ventilation of the lungs due to deep breathing, and the baby’s nervous system and body receive a boost in development.
• Gymnastics Strelnikova. It includes exercises in which the legs, neck and head are involved. The set of exercises is quite classic, but extensive, so each parent can choose what he likes best.
• The technique of K. Buteyko. In this case, it is proposed to practice shallow breathing with delayed expiration. This set of exercises causes a lot of controversy.
  

This is only a small part of the existing breathing exercises, but they are all somewhat similar to each other. At the heart of all the techniques you can find the main elements of breathing: holding, slowing, deepening of breathing. Among the hardware techniques, the most famous are the pressure chamber, Doman masks, and A. Galuzin's method of additional respiratory space.

The benefits of exercise

Respiratory gymnastics for preschool children can bring them a lot of benefits. To positively positive effects include:

• Relief of breathing in bronchial asthma, obstructive bronchitis and other pulmonary diseases. In this case, not only improvement can occur, but also a complete cure for such sores. But during pneumonia it is strictly forbidden to use breathing practices - so you only worsen the course of the disease.
• Improvement of cerebral circulation, attention, concentration, reduction of hyperactivity. It is proved that many neurological symptoms in children arise due to impaired functioning of the pulmonary system. A sufficient amount of oxygen simply does not enter the blood, as a result of which the child does not develop properly.
• Chronic sinusitis and rhinitis are also effectively treated with breathing exercises. The main thing is to deal with the child not during an exacerbation of the disease.
• Insomnia and sleep disorders in almost all cases pass immediately after the start of the exercise complex. Respiratory gymnastics in the fresh air allows you to do what no doctors and tablets can do - to put the child to sleep on time.
• Proper development, growth, and many other factors stretch in a chain from the ability to breathe correctly. Having the opportunity to breathe the air in full, the child’s body heals as a whole, and immediately many problems, which at first glance are not related to breathing, disappear.

Safety

However, breathing exercises with babies, especially preschool children, can lead to very sad consequences if you do not follow the technique of the exercise. With the help of breathing exercises, children learn to expand and compress their chests consciously, with the help of inhalations and exhalations. It is extremely important to pay attention to exhalation: because if it is not strong enough, part of the carbon dioxide remains in the lungs, which prevents them from functioning normally.

Experts recommend not overloading the kids: it is best to conduct breathing exercises for children in kindergarten or at home for 10-15 minutes. At the same time, at least 2 hours should pass after eating. It is best to carry out exercises outdoors (if warm) or in a ventilated area. From classes in the stuffy room there will be no sense.

In addition, in all methods, the following rules must be observed:

• Inhalation should be through the nose, and exhalation should be through the mouth.
• The shoulders should always be down.
• It is better to try to make an exhalation not sharp, but smoother and longer.
• Adults need to ensure that the cheeks of the baby do not inflate, otherwise the lungs will not work properly.
• During the lesson, you can use game elements so that children can better keep their attention on the progress of the exercise.

You probably will not achieve the ideal performance of breathing exercises in children. But, even following only a few rules, you can achieve a very significant improvement in the health of babies.

Breathing exercises for children from 6 years

Complexes of respiratory gymnastics are performed not only in kindergartens, but also in schools. Performing breathing exercises positively affects both the health and performance of children: they rest and return to class with renewed vigor. Here is a set of breathing exercises that can be carried out with children 6-8 years old:

1. A schoolboy is standing straight, his arms are extended along his body. He needs to take a deep breath through his nose and hold his breath for 2-3 seconds. During inspiration, you need to slowly raise your hands until they are not above your head. Then they are slowly lowered while exhaling.
2. In the second exercise, the arms should be held in front of you. After a sharp breath, the children should quickly take their hands as far back as possible, and then return them to their original position, and repeat this movement several times. Air should be held in the lungs. After that, the child should exhale forcefully through the mouth.
3. The third exercise is like the second with one exception: students make circular hand swings and hold their breath at the same time. After the movement, a strong exhalation through the mouth follows.
4. The fourth exercise is a “hug” of oneself. Schoolchildren should sharply throw their hands towards each other so that they can reach back to the shoulder blades. It is impossible to change the position of the hands during the exercise. Along with the throws you need to take a breath. This exercise is very effective and can be used as a separate task. It will be enough to perform 8 breaths of 4 repetitions.

With the growth of the child, breathing exercises become more complicated and longer. Children of 6-8 years old can already be taught to hold their breath out for a few seconds, and as they grow older, this interval can be lengthened.

Breathing exercises for preschoolers

What breathing exercises for preschool children can be distinguished?

1. The most popular exercise that every newbie should start with is Okay. Breathing exercises for children Strelnikova begins with just such a lesson. The child should stand with bent arms at the elbows and turn his palms outward so that they look away from him. During a quick and sharp inhalation of the nose, the fists should clench, and in the process of a long and slow exhalation - unclench. If the child is bored, you can invite him to imagine that he is a dog who sniffs, tracking down prey. The prey may be, for example, a favorite toy of the baby.
2. Exercise "drover" also involves the lungs and hands of the baby. Starting position: standing, with bent arms and fists at the waist level. During exhalation, the child extends his arms and relaxes his fingers, and during inhalation bends them back.
3. Exercise "Pump" quite often amuses kids. During it, the child must make jerky movements, then bending over, then coming back to the starting position. Children should stand, slightly hunched over, leaning forward and with their head bowed, while their hands should hang down with lashes along the body.
4. If the child becomes bored of performing uniform movements, you can try a little more active exercises. In breathing exercises for children 4 years of age, the exercise “Kitty” is especially popular. During it, you need to simultaneously turn the body to the right with a shallow squat and inhale sharply. Then, during exhalation, return to the starting position: standing, with legs shoulder-width apart. Hands during inspiration should also be bent.

For children 3 years old, such exercises can be too complicated, therefore, simplified techniques have been specially developed for them.

Breathing exercises for the little ones

The main goal of exercises for babies up to 3 years old is to set up proper breathing, which involves the diaphragm and lower chest. Classes at this age are more like a fun game. Trying to imitate you, the child simultaneously learns to breathe correctly.

• Exercise "Smell a flower": you need to take a flower, a fragrant bun or other object with a pleasant smell. Inhaling aroma through the nose, make sure that the crumb's mouth is closed. Then you can exhale through your mouth, uttering the sound "aaaaaa." In this exercise, not only the respiratory system is trained, but also the pronunciation of sounds.
• “Flight of the butterfly” - cut out several butterflies from loose paper and place them next to it. Then arrange a competition with the child: take turns blowing at them and measure whose butterfly “flew” further.
• Blowing ordinary soap bubbles can also significantly strengthen the baby's lungs. Try to teach your baby to blow large bubbles, but watch out for his breathing: the inhalation should be sharp and nasal, and the exhalation deep.
• Game "elevator": let the child lie on his back, and you put a toy on his stomach. Say that he is an “elevator” for the animal and ask him to raise the toy with his stomach a couple of “floors” up. Using this simple technique, diaphragmatic breathing is trained, which is responsible for the proper development of the lungs.
  

Breathing exercises while walking

It is proved that breathing exercises for children in the kindergarten are most effective when performed in the fresh air. Therefore, at any opportunity, in warm and good weather, you can carry out the following exercises:

• Everyone knows the “turntables” that spin from the wind and are sold in every children's store. They are bright enough to make them fun for even kids. Ask the child to create his own wind and blow on the spinner so that it starts moving.
• In plastic transparent bottles, you can put plastic balls or light beads, and give the child a tube. After he blows into it, the balls will “dance”, which will undoubtedly amuse the baby a lot.
• On the street, where there is room for running and movement, you can play Birds. This respiratory gymnastics for children of 5 years will add variety to the walk. The kid should stand with his feet shoulder-width apart and his arms lowered. During inhalation, he needs to spread his arms to the side and take a breath, and on the exhale lower his hands back and say “Karrrr”.

Pediatric Tips

Pediatricians around the world advise parents to use breathing exercises for children. They advise to perform exercises two or once a day: before breakfast and after dinner (but not before bedtime). It is better to start with one simple exercise so that the child gets used to the regime and understands the essence of breathing exercises. Like other classes, breathing exercises are best done every day at the same time. Gradually, the exercises can be complicated, but all the time you should carefully monitor so that the baby does not overwork.

At such an early age, positive emotions play a great role during class, so try to entertain the baby properly. The use of various props and toys will increase the motivation of the child, which means that breathing exercises will have a healing effect faster.

Parent reviews

Parents' reviews of respiratory gymnastics complexes for children are mostly positive. The Strelnikova technique is especially attractive to Russian mothers and fathers - after all, it is the most understandable and convenient form of breathing exercises. Gymnastics does not require physical strength and takes only 10-15 minutes a day. At the same time, she brings great benefits: parents note an improvement in well-being, higher academic performance, and a decrease in the number of diseases in their children.

Summary

If your child has health problems, and you are already tired of sitting on sick leave, perhaps you should contact not the doctors and pills, but the natural reserves of the human body. With the help of simple regular exercises, the quality of life of your child can significantly increase, and he will become much more energetic and healthier.