The Bubble Game to Promote Self-Control in Children
All children love to play with bubble makers. But not just little ones, adults love to make bubbles, too! That’s why, below, we want to tell you about the bubble game to promote self-control in children. It’s a great idea to make the most of this activity and to use it to work on skills that’ll last a lifetime.
When we make bubbles, we love to pop them. So, the game consists of just that–in practicing self-control in order not to explode all the bubbles. It’s a simple game that children love and that, without them realizing it, will be helping them enormously to self-regulate. And this is a skill that will serve them for life.
It’s a very dynamic tool for working on children’s self-control that can be used both at home and in the classroom. Children and adults will have a great time.
The bubble game to promote self-control in children
This game’s ideal for children over two years old and can be played with children up to six years old. Although, of course, the rules can be changed so that older children can enjoy it. Just progressively increase the difficulty and motivation to make it fun.
Younger children tend to be impulsive and want things on the spot. They find it hard to be patient, and when something doesn’t go their way, frustration or tantrums set in.
It’s common for young children to act before thinking and to think about the consequences of their actions afterward (instead of before). This is totally normal, and that’s why the bubble game’s so important and so much fun for them. They’ll know how to control their impulses and realize that they can’t always do what they want to do, no matter how much they want to.
This learning’s fundamental in childhood so that, in their adult lives, they can enjoy a stable emotional balance. But how does the bubble game work? Don’t miss a single detail about how to play this game.
Prepare the bubble game
To prepare the activity, all you need is a bubble wand or some other type of bubble maker. They’re easy to find in any toy store. It doesn’t matter the size; they can be smaller or bigger bubbles. You can even make the bubble-maker yourself at home. Choose the option you prefer the most.
The game that promotes self-control in little ones
To play, you have to ask the children to stand up and keep their distance from one another. Ideally, this should be done in an outdoor area to avoid staining any furniture or the floor of the house and also to avoid unnecessary bumps.
Then, blow the bubble maker to make the bubbles – the more the merrier! Allow bubbles to float in all directions. To do that, you’ll have to blow several times to fill the area.
If you don’t provide any instructions, you’ll notice how the children start running after the bubbles trying to explode them all. Since they like it so much, they’ll laugh, jump, scream, and have a great time. This is good and the first few times, you should let them do it.
The bubble challenge
Once the children have enjoyed popping the bubbles, then comes the challenge. When there are no more bubbles left to pop, you have to get their attention so that they’ll listen to what you have to tell them.
Tell them that you’re going to blow the bubbles again. But this time, they won’t be able to pop any of them. They’ll have to resist the urge to go after them, no matter how tempted they are. They’ll have to become statues and simply watch as the bubbles either go up in the air by themselves or explode shortly after they’re created.
Reflection
When the children have been able to control themselves, praise and congratulate them for having done the exercise correctly. You can talk to them while sitting in a circle on the floor to reflect on what’s happened: they’ve been able to control themselves and haven’t been carried away by their impulses.
They’ll realize in the simplest and silliest way there is, that they’re capable of controlling those impulses if they’re aware that they can. The magic of self-control will be there! And the children will have realized their full potential.
They can comment to each other how they felt when they held their own and succeeded, so they’re capable of having good self-control if they decide to do it, despite wanting to do something else with all their might!
The keyword
When you want the children to have self-control, you can use the secret word “bubbles” to remind them that they’re capable of doing it. Just say this word out loud as a signal and the children will know what they should do at that moment. Because they have the ability to control themselves successfully if they really want to.
We hope you’ll soon put this game into practice with your little ones at home to promote their self-control – they’ll love it!
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Asociación Mundial de Educadores Infantiles (2020) Autocontrol: Educación Infantil y Educación Primaria. Editorial: AMEI-WAECE
