6-yr-old expertly coaches his little brother through a tantrum-ending breathing exercise

Anyone who has raised children knows that helping kids navigate their emotions is a big part of the job. Humans have feelings, and feelings can be hard to manage sometimes. Heck, when a whole mess of adults have a hard time consistently regulating their emotions (as evidenced by countless grownups throwing toddler tantrums in public over being asked to wear a mask, among other things), expecting small children to be able to get a hold of themselves is a tall order.

That's what makes this 6-year-old expertly walking his 4-year-old brother through a breathing exercise to fend off a preschool tantrum pure, golden goodness.

Ashley West, a California mom of three boys, shared a video that's gone viral of her son Noah (6) talking to his brother Cory (4), who was on the verge of throwing a fit. Truly, it's worth the 21 seconds.


The way Noah coaches Cory through taking deep breaths, giving him visual cues with his hands while modeling the breathing himself is perfect. The way he gets his attention when Cory starts ramping up by raising his fingers and calmly saying "Breathe," before continuing to breathe with him is just awesome.

And then the positive reinforcement and pat on the back once he calmed down? Priceless.

It's clear that Noah has seen these techniques modeled for him at home. West told Upworthy that she is studying to become a social worker, so she has a lot of background in social-emotional work. (Yay, social workers! Pay them more!) She says the family also does a lot of yoga together, which helps explain why Noah's efforts seemed almost automatic.

West explained on Twitter that Cory was upset because the Nintendo had just gotten plugged in and wasn't charged enough to play yet—a relatable psychological challenge for a young child. But Noah stepped right in when the meltdown began.

"Y'all would've LOST it had I recorded it from the very beginning," she said. "My baby was all 'I understand the pain, I do, but you just have to wait, it's not done yet."

Gracious. Nothing like a master class in empathy and emotional regulation from a 6-year-old child.

Once you see it, it's clear why this video has gone viral. The world needs more emotionally healthy kids and adults in the world, and we all know it. While West says she's not a perfect parent and doesn't have all the answers, it's clear that she's doing a lot of things right with her kids.

It may seem like a simple thing, but intentional breathing can be an effective calming technique no matter what age you are. According to the University of Michigan, taking deep breaths mimics the way we breathe when we're relaxed, which makes our body tell our brain to calm down, which prompts our brain to sends a message back to our body to relax.

However, when your brain and body are in a heightened state, it can be hard to remind yourself to breathe, so having someone there to guide you through it can be helpful. My son went through a period of having panic attacks when he was younger, and we would do "box breathing" or "square breathing" together. I'd slowly draw an imaginary square in the air with my fingers, and we'd breathe in together as my finger went up one side (about five seconds), hold our breath as it went across the top, breathe out as it went down the other side, and then hold the exhale to complete the square. After a while, I'd just remind him to "box breathe" whenever he'd feel anxious, and he could do the square himself.

Good for Noah for already developing such excellent skills at such a young age, and good for his mom for giving him emotional tools he'll use for the rest of his life.

Now if we could just hire them to go around and teach the adults how to get a hold of themselves when they start pitching a fit, that'd be fabulous.

Courtesy of CeraVe
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"I love being a nurse because I have the honor of connecting with my patients during some of their best and some of their worst days and making a difference in their lives is among the most rewarding things that I can do in my own life" - Tenesia Richards, RN

From ushering new life into the world to holding the hand of a patient as they take their last breath, nurses are everyday heroes that deserve our respect and appreciation.

To give back to this community that is always giving so selflessly to others, CeraVe® put out a call to nurses to share their stories for a chance to be featured in Heroes Behind the Masks, a digital content series shining a light on nurses who go above and beyond to provide safe and quality care to patients and their communities.

First up: Tenesia Richards, a labor and delivery nurse working in New York City who, in addition to her regular job, started a community outreach program in a homeless shelter that houses expectant mothers for up to one year postpartum.

Tenesia | Heroes Behind the Masks presented by CeraVe www.youtube.com

Upon learning at a conference that black mothers in the U.S. die at three to four times the rate of white mothers, one of the widest of all racial disparities in women's health, Richards decided to take further action to help her community. She, along with a handful of fellow nurses, volunteered to provide antepartum, childbirth and postpartum education to the women living at the shelter. Additionally, they looked for other ways to boost the spirits of the residents, like throwing baby showers and bringing in guest speakers. When COVID-19 hit and in-person gatherings were no longer possible, Richards and her team found creative workarounds and created holiday care packages for the mothers instead.

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via The Walt Disney Company / Flickr

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Courtesy of CeraVe
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"I love being a nurse because I have the honor of connecting with my patients during some of their best and some of their worst days and making a difference in their lives is among the most rewarding things that I can do in my own life" - Tenesia Richards, RN

From ushering new life into the world to holding the hand of a patient as they take their last breath, nurses are everyday heroes that deserve our respect and appreciation.

To give back to this community that is always giving so selflessly to others, CeraVe® put out a call to nurses to share their stories for a chance to be featured in Heroes Behind the Masks, a digital content series shining a light on nurses who go above and beyond to provide safe and quality care to patients and their communities.

First up: Tenesia Richards, a labor and delivery nurse working in New York City who, in addition to her regular job, started a community outreach program in a homeless shelter that houses expectant mothers for up to one year postpartum.

Tenesia | Heroes Behind the Masks presented by CeraVe www.youtube.com

Upon learning at a conference that black mothers in the U.S. die at three to four times the rate of white mothers, one of the widest of all racial disparities in women's health, Richards decided to take further action to help her community. She, along with a handful of fellow nurses, volunteered to provide antepartum, childbirth and postpartum education to the women living at the shelter. Additionally, they looked for other ways to boost the spirits of the residents, like throwing baby showers and bringing in guest speakers. When COVID-19 hit and in-person gatherings were no longer possible, Richards and her team found creative workarounds and created holiday care packages for the mothers instead.

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