
Calming Ourselves in Stressful Moments™ Program
Helping children (ages 3–8) and adults
be more peaceful and response-able.
Program Overview
Calming Ourselves in Stressful Moments™ helps children, ages 3–8, develop the mindfulness skills to manage stress. This creative and easy-to-use program is designed for any adult who cares for and works with young children — parents, family members, child care providers, teachers, health-care providers, mental health professionals, and mindfulness educators.
Calming Ourselves in Stressful Moments™ uses a combination of calming activities with The Calming Skill™ — a five-step process to manage stress. The playful calming activities are fun and easy for a parent to use with a child and for an educator or child-care provider to use with a group of children. The activities may seem simple, yet they have a profound impact on redirecting a child’s energy.
Adults can apply these tools to manage their own stress as they guide children toward calming themselves. Children and adults become less reactive and more response-able. Learning to be calm benefits everyone's health, well-being, social-emotional skills, and performance.
The First (2004) and Second (2006) Editions of the Calming Ourselves in Stressful Moments™ program were developed and distributed within Comprehensive Health Foundation's Children and Families Initiative. The Third Edition of Calming Ourselves in Stressful Moments™ is under development and will be available through Mindfulness Education 4 Life™.
Links to find the following information
» Program Overview
• Program Materials
• Program Background
• Program Evaluation and Testimonials

A stressed child often:
- Feels overwhelmed or upset
- Reacts impulsively
- Misbehaves, withdraws, or
tunes out
- Has difficulty concentrating,
learning, and remembering
- Performs poorly
- Feels unhappy and pessimistic
- Is difficult to get along with
- Is prone to health problems

Learning to be calm
helps a child:
- Self-regulate emotions
- Control impulsive behavior
- Respond thoughtfully
- Act response-ably
- Focus attention and concentrate
- Learn, remember, and perform
better
- Feel happier and optimistic
- Be kind and cooperative
- Be healthy