Bruce Perry's 6 R Activities for Healing the Brain
Repetitive
- same movements over and over
Relational
- must be played with a parent
Rhythmic
- steady beat or rhythm
Respectful
- to people and setting
Rewarding
- fun for everyone playing
Relevant
- to age group and setting
When activities are played using the 6 Rs it helps build your child's brain, as well as creating and strengthening your parent-child bond. When your child sees you as someone fun and loving they will have more motivation to get 'unstuck' and will begin wanting to spend time with you!
The full Bruce Perry program is doing 6R activities 5 - 6 times a day, for 7 - 10 minutes each time. That can be overwhelming for a lot of families, so start out small. Once or twice a day is great!
How to plan during the day:
Set alarm for different times each day for activities. When your alarm rings it's play time! Whether they're stuck in the middle of a chore or brain shifter just scoop them up for a few minutes of Fun Mom/Dad Time.
Take a day to pick out your activities for the week. Write them in a planner or on your phone with a reminder. Or go ahead and be crazy - plan the whole month! Check out the ideas listed below and add your family's favourite activities to your list. The calendar page can be downloaded and used for this month or next month or every month - whatever makes your life as a therapeutic parent a little bit easier!
