Maybe a movie afternoon with lots of pillows. healthy snacks and drinks and they don’t even realise that their little bodies are relaxing and resetting themselves. All kids are a ball of energy and don’t we as grandparents know it!

As a Nana I can truly relate. The grandkids get so excited, it can be very hard to slow them down. One thing that seems to work for me is to read a book to them while they have a snack. They have their own special foam chairs for snack time. They also really like going on our queen size bed. I might have a few little toys on the bed or a few books and that way they rest a bit without realizing it! Maybe u could set aside a half an hour each visit and say that it is quiet time now and they can listen to a book and cd while they rest. Good luck. Providing playdoh is also a good way to have them slow down as they are often quietly making different things with the playdoh.

I think it can also help to have ‘unstructured’ time, If a carer is feeling worn out from doing activities, playing board games, reading, lining up paints and clay, going on outings, decorating cookies etc. then maybe it is time for the child to find something themselves. This will depend upon their age but essentially go ‘invent’ something… play in the garden without anything in particular arranged, sit quietly with some toys/objects/books and just explore.

We have mandatory quiet time in our house on ‘stay at home’ days. This means sleep or reading in a quiet spot. This helps to ‘reset’ them a bit.

Implementing quiet time/slow down time is a good idea and having an identified place for quiet time/slow down time helps. Set it up as a relaxation area with activities that are quiet – books, colouring books, quiet music etc.

I remember always wishing for an “Off” switch. On the other hand it was always a little worrying when my little one was too quiet and I’d wonder what was wrong. Running, jumping, playing etc is very good for their physical and cognitive development.

Slowing down kids is hard but maybe keep them as busy and active as you can then they will hopefully get tired and wind down maybe with a story book and a movie they like!

I agree with the others. Slowing down after an active afternoon is essential. It’s literally slowing down, both physically and emotionally. A bath, a movie a book, dimmed light, a light snack and off to bed.

My shadow as I call my grand daughter sometimes does seem to have two speeds. Outside play does help to wear her down. In the afternoon we have quiet time while she colours or if lucky has access to my tablet to play computer games. If she is cranky get her to lay down and tell her to not shut her eyes or go to sleep, she does go to sleep. My twins who are 5 turning 6 next month also have a lot of energy but they seem to be able to entertain themselves. My son will clean his room and his sister’s room as he is a neat person. My daughter has a play engine that my husband made her to work on. She really loves the dirty side of life, even gardening her herb garden.

Wear the out for a few hours, running around outside. Then come inside for a movie or to read a book. Kids are hard to slow down though. They usually run on 2 speeds, flat out and stop

Quiet time slows them down but they have to be ready for it – reading, colouring in, drawing, craft etc. Cooking with grandma would be a lovely activity, I remember watching my grandmother knit, helping her unpull jumpers, wind balls of wool. It wasn’t the most fun but it was nice being with her