Hi 👋 Pediatric occupational therapist and mom here! One thing that I don’t have or plan on using… is a calm down corner. Why? Because you do not need a calm down corner in your home or classroom to promote regulation! ✨🧠 👎 Calm down corners can be useful, but many kids do not find them beneficial (like my child) and here is why: 1.) Calm down corners typically lack in VARIETY. They usually have fidgets, breathwork activities, and visual stimuli (through gel timers, lights, or pictures of emotions), but what about our other senses?! 2.) Regulation is not about being calm, but about making sure our level of arousal MATCHES the environmental expectation. Sometimes it is appropriate to be super active (i.e. playing sports) and at other times it is appropriate to be tired (i.e. nap time, bedtime). 3.) Calm down corners don’t always meet EVERYONE’S sensory needs. If a child is craving movement, then depriving them of movement by putting them in a “calm down corner” isn’t going regulate them. 🧠 They NEED to move their body, or do heavy work, to meet their desires for movement. This movement helps them regulate and ultimately promotes focus. 💡So what can we do to improve sensory regulation? - Make sure to listen to the child’s cues on what sensory input they need - Make sure you offer different varieties of sensory input (check out my other videos for simple sensory activities!) - Try different strategies - Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box! ✅ Follow for more sensory tips and insights from a specialist 😊🫶🧠 #sensory #sensoryplay #toddlersoftiktok #momsoftiktok #dadsoftiktok #regulation #occupationaltherapy #kids #energy