Dolphins

One way that has been very helpful in settling the hearts and emotions of our children is to have them imagine being a favorite animal.  Feeling themselves moving as the animal helps them learn to regulate and stabilize a bit like active meditative deep breathing and mindfulness helps adults.

A couple of our children love to imagine themselves as dolphins, leaping and swiftly swimming sleekly through the water.  They like to feel the water, the speed and the warmth of the water.  Like the dolphins, one of their favorite activities is swimming.

Swimming is a wonderful activity for many children and adults too!  It is also an important life skill for us here on the West Coast, so I always try to arrange weekly swimming lessons for the kids here at home in either the fall or spring.  Having the lessons gets us going to the pool regularly and I always make sure that they have play time before or after the lesson.

Moving and swimming through the water has brought significant healing to our children.  It gives them a sense of grounded belonging in their bodies.  I usually sit by the side of the pool. When the children first joined our family it gave a great opportunity for practicing eye contact.  I would encourage the kids to watch for me.  Every  time they caught my eye I would give them a thumbs up or smile.  They got used to looking to me for direction and praise across the pool deck.  It also helped them learn some self regulation.  Although I am sure others might have felt I was somewhat over-the-top in my parental control, when there was any sign of the children getting out of control or over excited, I would motion to them to come and sit with me until they were settled.  They were well aware of the routine before hand, and it was an immediate time of closeness whenever things were getting too carried away.  I wrapped them in a towel and gave them a firm hug of deep pressure to help them get grounded and stabilized before heading off to try again.

The lessons have also given the children practice following directions and listening to others.  For many children this is overwhelming.  The loud echoing environment of the pool is not good for all children, especially if they are sensitive to noise.  Some of our older children have been volunteers to help with children who need an extra hand in the pool.  One of our younger daughters for whom the pool has been very helpful is now excited about being able to volunteer herself.

Tonight I am off to pick up my now independent dolphins from the pool.  What a great place of fun, healing and play.