💛 Balloon Belly Breathing

🧺 Materials

• a small stuffed animal or soft toy
• a comfy spot to lie down (rug, bed, or pillow)

📋 Instructions (parent)

1. Lie down together on a comfy spot and place a small stuffed animal on each of your bellies.
2. Tell your child their belly is a magic balloon: when they breathe in slowly, the balloon (and the animal) goes up.
3. Breathe in slowly through the nose counting 'uno, dos, tres' and watch the stuffed animal rise.
4. Breathe out slowly through the mouth, counting 'uno, dos, tres' again, and watch it go down.
5. Repeat five gentle breaths together, whispering 'tranquilo' as you breathe out.
6. Talk about how the body feels calmer and when they could use balloon breathing (when angry or scared).

➕ Extension ideas

• Pretend to smell a flower (breathe in) and blow out a candle (breathe out) as another way to do slow breaths.
• Make balloon breathing part of bedtime to wind down each night.

🗣️ Parent script — say it in Spanish

💬 Conversation prompts

• ¿Ves cómo sube el peluche cuando respiras?
• ¿Cómo se siente tu cuerpo cuando respiras despacito?
• ¿Cuándo crees que podemos usar la respiración de globo?
• ¿Te sientes más tranquilo ahora?
• ¿Quieres respirar como un globo otra vez conmigo?

🔑 Vocabulary

• respirar — to breathe
• globo — balloon
• pancita — tummy
• tranquilo — calm
• despacito — slowly
• cuerpo — body
• nariz — nose