Smell the Flower, Blow the Candle: A Free Breathing Game
A free, simple guided breathing game for children using smelling a flower and blowing out a candle to teach slow, calming breaths anywhere they go.
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Smell the Flower, Blow the Candle is a free guided breathing game that uses two familiar images, smelling a flower and blowing out a candle, to teach a young child how to slow down their breathing. It is one of the simplest breathing tools available, since almost every child already understands both actions without needing them explained.
Key Takeaways for Parents and Caregivers
- Suitable for very young children, roughly ages 3 to 8, with no equipment needed.
- Uses two familiar, simple images rather than counting or timing instructions.
- Easy to use anywhere, including waiting rooms, cars, or before bedtime.
- Best used regularly, not only saved for moments of distress.
Why This Is the Simplest Breathing Tool
Many breathing exercises ask a young child to count breaths or hold air for a set number of seconds, which can be confusing for a very young child. This practice instead uses two actions a child already knows: breathing in slowly through the nose like smelling a flower, then breathing out slowly through the mouth like gently blowing out a candle. No numbers or timing are required.
What Happens in the Practice
The narration invites the child to imagine holding a beautiful flower and breathing in slowly through the nose to smell it, then imagining a candle in front of them and blowing it out gently and slowly through the mouth. This pattern repeats a few times at a relaxed pace, with the child free to imagine any flower or candle colour they like.
Where This Practice Travels Well
Because it needs no props and no counting, this is an easy tool to use in a waiting room, a car seat, before a nap, or right before a nervous moment like a first day of school. Once a child learns it, they can be reminded with just the words flower and candle, without needing the full recording every time.
Building It Into Daily Life
This practice works best when it is not saved only for hard moments. Try using it during calm times, like right before storytime or after getting dressed in the morning, so it becomes a familiar, comfortable habit rather than something only associated with distress.
Safety and Scope
This is a general calming tool for everyday moments, not a treatment for asthma, anxiety disorders, or breathing conditions. If your child has asthma or another respiratory condition, follow your pediatrician's guidance on breathing exercises and never use this in place of prescribed treatment during a breathing difficulty.
Teaching Note from Mohan Chute
I recommend this practice first to parents of very young children because it needs no explanation at all. A child who has never heard the word mindfulness can still smell a flower and blow out a candle, and that is often all the calm they need.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age is this for?
Roughly ages 3 to 8, since it needs no counting or timing.
Can I use just the words later?
Yes, once learned, saying flower and candle can be enough.
Is this safe for children with asthma?
Follow your pediatrician's guidance for any respiratory condition.
Do we need any props?
No, everything is imagined, so it works anywhere.
When should we practice it?
Regularly during calm moments, not only during distress.