How to make your own ‘Calm down’ Glitter Jar Tutorial

If you have been following me on Instagram for a while, you may have come across me mentioning how angry my youngest has been lately. It’s not been pretty. The tantrums have been…monumental. Tears have flowed {from us both!} and overall? It’s been pretty exhausting. I have a feeling that experiencing lockdown over the last few months has something to do with it and everything that came with it. By that I mean, the lack of school, not seeing their friends, family, not being able to hug said family, being unable to visit playparks and other familiar places. It was a lot for us as adults, but for our little ones? It was an astronomical change. There was a huge shift in our normal daily life and that took some adjusting to get used too. But, after a massive emotional meltdown one evening from my youngest, I made her a ‘calm down’ glitter jar.

I had seen these around every now and again during my Pinterest rabbit hole adventures. We all have them, it’s OK to admit it. And I always reminded myself that I must make one. However, after this particular meltdown, I just bought the ingredients I needed on Amazon there and then and was able to make it within a few days. Initially, I thought you just needed cold water and some fine glitter. Oh, how wrong was I because the glitter clumps up after a few minutes. I’m speaking after a personal attempt! And no matter how hard you shake it, it cannot become ‘unclumped’.

How can a calm down jar help control your child’s emotions?

Having something that your child can focus on when they are feeling overwhelmed, angry, upset or anxious is an essential tool. You know yourself, as a parent, sometimes our children can become so cross and upset that nothing can console them. Essentially they lose complete control of themselves. Not even our magical Mummy or Daddy cuddles will work.

After watching Annabelle with hers, I have noticed that as she focuses on the swirling glitter, it helps her to calm down, to focus on her feelings and it also helps her process those feelings too. I have found that after using the calming jar {and this is from our experience, no two children are the same} that she has been able to understand her feelings more and in turn, process them & to regain control.

Another thing I’ve found when she is in her twirly tizz of upset & fury, she cannot talk to me. However, after 5 minutes of the calming jar? She’s ready to talk to me. Her face has softened and she looks calm and relaxed again.

What you need to make your own ‘calm down’ glitter jar

• A glass jar or a plastic water bottle {kids are prone to throwing things when they’re angry, sometimes!}
• Glue gun or super glue {use super glue if using a plastic bottle!}
• Ultrafine glitter {in a colour of your choice}
• A bottle of Elmer’s Glitter glue {in the colour of your choice}
• Some warm distilled water

How to make your own ‘calm down’ glitter jar

The first thing you need to do is boil your kettle and make sure your jar is nice and clean. Let the freshly boiled water cool for around 10 minutes before filling your jar 2 thirds of the way.

Take your bottle of Elmer’s glitter glue and add it to the water. The bottle I bought was 177 ml and I was able to make two calming jars from this. So use half of your Elmer’s glue {which is around 86 ml} and stir until the glitter glue is all melted into the warm water.

Fill the rest of your jar with more warm water and then add 2 tablespoons of your ultra fine glitter. Again, this is the amount I needed for my jar, your jar might be bigger or smaller, so just add as much ultra-fine glitter as you think is right.

Stir again until it’s all combined. And add a little more warm water to your jar.

Now it’s time to glue on your lid. Just apply the glue around the rim of the glass jar and screw on your lid. Now you have made your calming jar, you can leave it to cool before giving it to your child.

Overall thoughts…

I am no psychologist or child behavioural specialist. I am just a parent who wanted to find a way to help her child regain control of her emotions when they ran away with her.

Anytime Annabelle has had an uncontrollable outburst, the calming jar has worked. It really does help her focus on calming her emotions {thanks to the pretty swirling glitter} and by the time the glitter has fallen to the bottom? She has calmed down and able to talk to me about whatever made her lose control. In other cases, I have noticed her going for her calming jar whenever she has felt herself getting angry and it has been successful in those times, too.

It is such a simple calming method and if your child is prone to throwing things in anger, you can opt for a plastic bottle. Annabelle thankfully isn’t a ‘throw-it-across-the-room-in anger’ child – but if yours is. Remember you have that plastic container option.

But overall, it has been working incredibly well. So much so I have one upstairs and one downstairs for whenever those anger, anxious or overwhelmed spells attack.

PIN IT FOR LATER!