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Lead the way to calmer times

A calm and regulated adult is modeling a healthy response — here are some resources to help you and your child.

Change to Chill

Scope out youth-focused articles, videos, and resources on everyday mental health and stress management for teens and those who care for them.

It started in 2013 through Allina Health’s Community Health Initiatives, has become more than than a website. Recognizing that stress impacts each person differently based on their identities, Change to Chill formed a unique partnership with Hennepin County Public Health and several community organizations to ensure they were best supporting youth from diverse identity groups. In 2021, these partners developed new identity-focused content to give youth a sense of belonging, pride in their identities, and culturally relevant resources to support their mental health.

Take me to Change to Chill

Settle in with a good book

Finding a book that helps with your child’s emotions can be an effective way to redirect. Once you can settle bodies, we offer different voices to read with you and your child.

List of some of our teams favorite stories.

Color to calm

The art of mindfulness can blend with coloring time — for all ages and levels. Even a blank sheet of paper and an ask to color the weather that you are feeling can be an exercise in finding center. For more extraordinary patterns:

Check out online options for free coloring templates

Step into nature

Fresh air and exploring or naming your surroundings can be settling and create space for you and your child to get re-grounded. There are a series of options of how to use nature to create calm.

Resources beyond Washburn Center’s community

Ideas can come from so many corners; here are others that our team has gathered over time.

Sitting by the water and listening to nature can give a soothing moment or three.

(Turn down your volume- it beeps loudly at first.)
This Hallmark video takes you airborne with quiet music as you soar through the air.  Use the arrows in the top left corner to look up/down or left/right.

If you are feeling stressed out, anxious or sad… focus on your feet and how they feel on the ground. You can try this outside or inside

Think about how a lemon smells…or cookies just out of the oven or freshly mowed grass. How does it make you feel? Certain scents can help us feel calm or happy. Give it a try with some items that you have at home!

Blowing bubbles or blowing on a pinwheel can help us to slow down our breathing and our heart rate so that our bodies feel more calm. Download this FREE app for a virtual pinwheel. Then, blow on your cellphone and watch it spin!