What Is a Calm Down Jar?

Throughout their development, children experience different positive and negative emotions. The latter must be controlled through highly effective educational methods. One of them is the calm down jar.

It’s very helpful for parents to understand the idea of a “calm down jar.” They can use this method as a support tool in situations where they have to help their children through episodes of anxiety and irritability.

Children learn more from their parents’ examples than from their words. Therefore, parents cannot demand anything that they themselves haven’t been able to demonstrate.

As children grow, they express their joys or bitterness. Parents serve as the guides and facilitators to make their children’s development more pleasant. 

Children live their lives exercising their own sovereignty. They’re innocent and incapable of being evil or promoting anything malicious. Educational tools and methods are useful in placating the negative emotions that may arise from any tantrum.

What is the calm down jar?

The calm down jar is an educational method that is essentially based around a transparent container with a lid. Inside it holds a mixture of water, glue, glitter and food coloring to create bright swirling shapes. 

It was created to help children release negative emotions, such as stress, anger and crying, among others. This method is very effective. You can see excellent results in a short time.

Most parents turn to it to control certain emotions. It also helps little ones concentrate. Sometimes, children don’t know how to handle their negative emotions. For this reason, it’s important to educate them naturally step by step, without the need to stifle them.

When parents understand what the calm down jar consists of, they know that it acts as an ally that can be used any time the child expresses his emotions inappropriately.

For this method to work, it’s a good idea for the child to take the bottle with him. He should shake it when he feels angry and restless. Of course, this means that the jar must be made of plastic, not glass, in order to avoid injury.

Benefits of the calm down jar

When they experience states of restlessness, anger and stress, children express their feelings by crying. Their whole body becomes unbalanced. Their breathing and heart beat accelerate, their blood vessels dilate, and they sweat. They completely lose their concentration.

By shaking the calm down jar and then stopping to watch the contents slowly fall, your child’s brain sends a signal to decrease any state of acceleration throughout the body. So, the child’s whole body will relax.

In addition to knowing what the calm down jar consists of, parents must understand that each child has a distinct personality. Therefore, development with this method can vary from child to child. It works best on ages 2 to 6.

How to make a calm down jar

Here are some useful suggestions for making this tool:

• The size of the container should vary according to the size of the child.
• Try to use a transparent plastic container. Fill most of it with clean water.
• Add 3 tablespoons of white glue to the water. The glue makes the mixture more dense, and the materials will take longer to descend. This makes it more relaxing.
• Add non-toxic dye to the mixture. Just 3 or 4 drops will do. Mix everything until it’s well integrated.
• Add two teaspoons of glitter in a complementary color.
• Top off the jar with a little more water if needed.
• Cover the container very tightly. Remember that your child will be shaking this bottle, so it needs to have a tight lid to avoid spilling the contents.

As you may have noticed, making a calm down jar is very simple. It’s also helpful to place it somewhere visible so that the child can use it whenever needed.