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Breathing Exercises for Kids

Ten breathing exercises for kids, each drawn as a shape a child traces with a finger: up a star point to breathe in, down the next point to breathe out. Pick the exercises and an age band, practise each card on screen, then print a card deck or a calm-corner poster. Free, no signup.

Practise on screen

Balloon breathing

Fill a balloon in your belly, then let it float down.

Hands on your belly. Breathe in through your nose and feel the balloon fill up. Breathe out slowly through your mouth as it shrinks.

In 4 · Out 5 · 4 times

Breaths 0
Left 0:00
breathe in breathe out hold

Follow the dot with a finger. The bright line is the breath you are on.

Pick the cards for your deck

Tap a card to put it in the deck or take it out. The counts and wording follow the age band you choose.

8 of 10 cards chosen

Print your deck and poster

Card size
Ink

8 cards on 1 page

Print the card deck Print the calm-corner poster One page, every chosen shape on it

Both open a print-ready page. Choose “Save as PDF” in the print window to keep a PDF. Cards print on white, cut along the dashed lines.

These are calming routines, not a treatment. Stop if a child feels dizzy or upset, and keep the breaths gentle — never forced. If a child has asthma or another breathing condition, ask their doctor or nurse which exercises suit them.

What makes a good breathing exercise for kids

Something to look at, something to do with the hands, and an out-breath longer than the in-breath. Shapes give a child all three: tracing a star or a hand sets the pace without counting, and the long side of the shape is the slow breath out. Short sets work best, three to five breaths, practised when the child is calm so the routine is there when it is needed.

How to use the cards

  1. 1 Practise when calm Learn a card on an ordinary day, not in the middle of a meltdown. A routine practised in calm moments is the one a child can reach for later.
  2. 2 Keep it short Three to five breaths is a full set for a young child. Stop while it is still fun.
  3. 3 Do it together Trace the shape at the same time as the child. Children copy the adult far more than they follow instructions.
  4. 4 Let them choose Fan the deck out and let the child pick today’s card. Choice is half of what makes a calm corner feel like theirs.

Counts by age band

The same wording prints on each card. Counts are in seconds, roughly one slow count each.

Age band In Out Hold Breaths per card
Ages 4–6 3 4 2 3
Ages 7–9 4 5 3 4
Ages 10–12 4 6 4 5

How the cards are built

Every card is a shape a child traces while breathing, and the shape is split into phases: one stretch of line for the breath in, one for the breath out, and on the square a side for each hold. The on-screen card walks a dot along each stretch for that many seconds, so the dot moves at the pace of the breath, and the printed card draws the in-lines and out-lines differently so it can be read with no words. Star and five-finger breathing hold five breaths in one lap; the rest repeat for the number of breaths the age band sets.

The counts are this site's own guide, not a published protocol, and there is no study behind the exact numbers. They follow three plain rules: the out-breath is always longer than the in-breath, because a long, slow exhale is where the research on slow breathing finds its calming effect; no hold is longer than the in-breath; and younger children get shorter counts and fewer breaths. Ages 4 to 6 breathe in for 3 seconds and out for 4, three times; ages 7 to 9, in for 4 and out for 5, four times; ages 10 to 12, in for 4 and out for 6, five times. Square breathing keeps four equal sides at 3, 4 and 4 seconds. Shorten any count a child finds hard.

The deck prints eight small or four large cards to a page, so the page count is the number of cards divided by that and rounded up. Each sheet is laid out to fit both A4 and US Letter. The research on breathing in schools comes from mindfulness programmes that include it, which report small improvements in stress and wellbeing; none of that makes breathing a treatment for any condition, and the cards do not claim to be one.

Where this comes from

  1. 1. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing — Zaccaro et al., Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018 (PubMed)
  2. 2. Mindfulness-based interventions in schools — a systematic review and meta-analysis — Zenner, Herrnleben-Kurz & Walach, Frontiers in Psychology, 2014 (PubMed)

Nothing on this site is medically reviewed. It cites its sources where there are sources, and says so plainly where a number is our own judgement rather than a published figure. Breathwork is not a treatment for a medical condition — if something about your breathing or sleep worries you, see a doctor. Method last checked 23 October 2026.

Why shapes work for children

Children learn breathing through their eyes and hands before their ears. Telling a seven-year-old to "breathe in for four and out for six" asks them to count, watch the clock and control their breath at once. Handing them a star and saying "slide up a point, then down" asks for one thing, and the shape does the counting. That is why every card here is a line to trace rather than a number to hold in your head.

The shapes are built the same way. The in-breath is the shorter stretch of line, the out-breath the longer one, because a slow, long exhale is the part of a calming breath that does the most work in the research on slow breathing. Square breathing is the exception on purpose: four equal sides is box breathing, which older children can take straight on to the box breathing timer.

For the reasoning behind the age bands, when to teach breathing and when not to, read breathwork for kids. Adults who want to pace their own breathing with a visual guide can use the breathing timer, which takes any pattern you set.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are good breathing exercises for kids?
The ones a child can see and do with their hands. Balloon breathing (hands on the belly), star breathing (trace a star, up a point to breathe in, down to breathe out), five-finger breathing (trace a hand), snake breathing (a long hiss out) and bumblebee breathing (hum on the way out) are the usual favourites. Each one slows the breath and makes the out-breath longer than the in-breath without the child having to count.

How do I make breathing cards for a classroom or calm corner?
Pick the exercises above, choose the age band, and press "Print the card deck". The print page lays out eight small or four large cards per sheet in colour or ink-saver black, with dashed cut lines. Choose "Save as PDF" in the print window if you want a file. The calm-corner poster puts every chosen shape on one page to pin up beside the cards.

What age are these breathing exercises for?
Roughly 4 to 12. The age band changes the counts and the wording: ages 4 to 6 get three-second breaths in, four out and three rounds, in short words an adult can read aloud; ages 10 to 12 get four in, six out and five rounds. The counts are this site's own guide, not a published standard, so shorten them if a child runs out of breath.

Can breathing exercises help a child with anxiety, anger or ADHD?
Breathing is a calming routine many teachers, counsellors and parents use, and school mindfulness programmes that include it report small improvements in stress and wellbeing in reviews of the research. It is not a treatment for anxiety, anger, ADHD, autism or any other condition. If a child's worries or outbursts are getting in the way of school, sleep or friendships, talk to their doctor or school counsellor.

What if my child has asthma?
Ask their doctor, nurse or asthma team which exercises suit them before you start, and never use breathing exercises in place of their inhaler or asthma plan. Keep every breath gentle, skip the holds, and stop any exercise that makes them cough, wheeze or feel dizzy.

How long should a kids breathing exercise last?
A single card takes under a minute: three to five slow breaths. That is enough. Short, frequent practice builds the routine better than long sessions, and stopping while it is still fun keeps a child coming back to the calm corner on their own.

More Tools

Box Breathing Timer

Free box breathing timer. Inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4, paced by a visual square with an optional sound cue. Pick 3, 4, 5 or 6 seconds per side.

Breathing Timer

A free online breathing timer: set any inhale, hold, exhale and hold, follow the visual pacer with an optional sound cue, and pick a session length. No signup.

Find Your Technique

Take this free quiz to find the best breathing technique for your goals. Match your needs to the right breathwork method — stress, sleep, energy, or focus.

Pace your own breathing with the Inhale app

The same shape-and-dot pacing, built for adults: guided sessions, streaks and mood before and after. No account required.

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