⭐ Sleepy Starfish Stretch
Three slow stretches that take the fizz out of bedtime.
🏃 Move·10 min·Free·Ages 2–5·👶 Easy·🧑 Light
⚠️ Safety first
Let them set their own pace. Don't push a stretch or put weight on the head or neck.
You know your child best — supervise the whole time and skip anything that isn't right for them. See our Terms.
Why this is good for your child
- ✓Body awareness
- ✓Calming
What you need
The bed
How to do it
- 1.Stretch out like a starfish, hold, then flop.
- 2.Curl up small like a pebble.
- 3.Slow it down each round until the last one is a whisper.
How it actually goes
- ⏱ 30-second set-up —
- Thirty seconds: put the bed on a tray or a clear bit of floor, and sit down next to it before you call them over.
- 🧑 What you do —
- Show it once, slowly, without talking over yourself. Then hand it over and stop helping unless they ask.
- 👶 What they do —
- Climb, carry, balance and wobble — and try it again faster.
- ✅ What success looks like —
- At 2–3 they'll do it their own way, not yours, and stop after five minutes. Both of those are fine.
- 🧺 How to put it away —
- Everything back into one basket or tray, carried back to its spot by them. Naming the spot out loud is what makes it stick.
- 📈 When they outgrow it —
- Older? Add a timer, or let them design the next round.