Yesterday, I was grumpy. My problem started with an annoying problem at work and snowballed from there. It was one of those days that I simply did not feel like snapping out of it. That is until my daughter wanted me to help her make play dough. She had the little neighbor girl over and they needed something to do. So, I pulled out the ingredients and started stirring. By the time the play dough was ready, I was a happy camper. It seems all I needed was a little tactile interaction.
Turning moods around is part of a mom's job, even if the mood we need to turn around is our own!
Pouty putty and other smile-inducing sensory activities
Play dough is a sneaky way of chasing away pouty faces. Manipulating the dough is relaxing and it engages the senses in a way that simply coloring does not. You can pull out a purchase container of play dough or silly putty, or try a homemade recipe.
Salt dough
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup salt
- 2 Tbsp. Cream of Tarter
- 2 Tbsp. oil
- 1 package of Kool Aid
Homemade Putty
(Pouty Putty)
- 2 cups white glue
- 1 cup liquid starch
- Food coloring (optional)
Sparkly Slime
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
- Food coloring
- Glitter
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl adding a few drops of food coloring and a sprinkle of glitter to make the slime that much more appealing! Scoop, squeeze and manipulating the gooey texture can help a child simply erase a bad mood.
Recipe free sensory activities include things like walking barefoot in the grass, playing with bubbles, splashing in water and brushing the child's hair. Sometimes a mood can be flipped when attention is turned away from feelings and on to how things feel.
More by Sylvie Branch:
7 ways to keep siblings content at sporting events
No More Nagging: 7 Steps to Freedom
Stressed at home? Shut up and move!
