When you want to offer an activity, try showing two clear pictures instead of describing a long list. Name each option, show what you mean and leave time for a response. Your child can point, move a card, speak, draw or decide to watch first.
This setup uses ordinary paper and two pictures. Arrange the cards in two spaces, ready for your child to choose. Start with pictures you already own, or draw two simple actions yourself.
Choose two genuinely different actions
Put two pieces of paper next to each other, or draw two spaces on a sheet. Place one activity picture in each space. Choose actions that you can easily demonstrate, so the choice has a clear meaning.
For example, the Breatho card offers “Big slow breath” with “Smell the flower, blow out the candle.” Slowmo offers “Slow motion” with “Move super slowly, like a sleepy sloth.” These give you two different invitations without needing a long explanation.
Hold up or point to each picture as you name it. You might say, “A breath, a slow movement, or watch me?” Demonstrate one turn and pause. Adding more instructions immediately can turn a simple invitation into a task list, so wait to see what your child chooses.
Make the next step visible
- Choose the picture together.
- Show one turn of the action, if wanted.
- Offer “again”, “another picture” or “finished”.
- Move the selected picture or put it away together.
You can draw your own marks for those next steps on scrap paper. Use whichever marks or words make the next step clear to your child. If a table layout is inconvenient, hold the two pictures where both can be seen.
Pickapip, a card in the same Breatho & Friends set, has the label “Pick one.” You can put it beside your two options as a reminder of the invitation. Choose the two options that fit what you would like to try today.
Offer more than a spoken answer
A choice can be moving a card toward you, pointing, making a gesture or saying its name. Watching is also a way to spend a turn together. If your child wants to change the action, invite them to show what they mean instead of insisting on your demonstration.
For a feelings option, Feelio explicitly says, “Show how you feel: say it, point to it or draw it.” A pencil beside the picture makes the drawing option available. You can model your own answer without asking your child to copy your feeling.
Keep the setup small enough to use
Put the unused pictures aside until another choice is wanted. At the end, ask whether your child wants to keep the same two pictures for next time or choose different ones. There is no need to work through every card or record a success score.
Breatho, Slowmo, Pickapip and Feelio are all in the 53-card Breatho & Friends set. Its printable PDFs come in A4 and US Letter, alongside digital images and app access to the purchased set. An adult can prepare the paper cards. Explore the card sets and choose Breatho & Friends if you would like to preview the actual pictures.