Waking hypnosis: everyday hypnosis for parents and kids

A scraped knee, a wasp sting, a bump on the forehead. The tears flow, a parent kneels down, blows gently on the spot and says: “There, all better.” And often, it really is. In German-speaking countries, parents sing a little verse for this moment, “Heile, heile, Segen,” roughly “heal, heal, blessing.” In the US, you might kiss it better. Either way, most parents do not realize that they are using waking hypnosis with their child, intuitively and with real effect.

The ideas and techniques in this article come from Barbara Scholl, OMNI Hypnosis and HypnoKids® instructor.

What waking hypnosis is

In waking hypnosis, hypnotic effects arise in the child’s normal waking state, without a formal induction. The child accepts a suggestion and puts it into practice, and so it really does not hurt anymore. That is why it is sometimes described as hypnosis without trance, although a child’s attention in that moment is anything but ordinary. It is completely focused.

Children are especially open to it. Up to the age of about 12, they go through a formative phase in which they only gradually learn to filter and sort what they hear and experience. They are still trusting and often live in their own world, where a sleep-stealing monster hides under the bed, the tooth fairy rewards lost baby teeth, and dolls and stuffed animals take part in everyday life.

This phase also shapes whether a child feels safe, loved and valuable. “It is extremely important not to leave this time window of fundamental imprinting to chance, but to use it to consciously and sustainably strengthen the child’s inner navigation system so that the child can later realize its full potential,” says Barbara Scholl.

Why careless words matter

A child’s inner navigation system is mapped out along beliefs, positive and negative. Barbara Scholl tells the story of a young client, a girl who plays ice hockey on a boys’ team in Switzerland. Her talent and passion are remarkable. But when she was six, the boys in her neighborhood kept sending her off the field with one sentence: Girls can’t play soccer. At 14, confidence often fails her at the decisive moment. Again and again, she passes the puck to a boy instead of shooting at the goal herself.

“As parents, we should be aware of how important it is to pass on valuable beliefs to our children,” Barbara Scholl says. “When a child hears from their parents that everything they need for their life is already within them, they build up a mountain of self-confidence over the years.”

Everyday hypnosis starts right here, with the words parents choose. Beyond beliefs, there are many techniques that work in daily life, in small emergencies and as evening rituals. Here are three.

Three waking hypnosis techniques for everyday life

Magic spit for small bumps

The child is screaming at the top of their lungs. They fell off the swing, pinched a finger or tumbled while playing. The parent asks the child to close their eyes and start collecting lots of spit in their mouth. While the child does this, the parent explains that this is magic spit, and that it takes pain away. The moment the child swallows it, the magic spit goes straight to where it hurts and makes the unpleasant feeling disappear.

The technique moves the child’s focus away from the physical pain. It is meant for everyday bumps and scrapes. If a child is seriously hurt, first aid and, where needed, a doctor always come first.

A balloon for big feelings

The child has trouble keeping their impulses under control. When they lose control again, the parent asks them to pretend they are holding a balloon. Where in the body do they feel the unpleasant feeling right now? And if the feeling had a color, what color would it be? Then the child blows hard and loudly, imagining that they are blowing this color into the balloon with all their strength. The parent lets the child keep blowing until their energy has settled. Finally, the child imagines letting the colored balloon rise into the sky, higher and higher, until it can no longer be seen.

A hand heart for courage

Going to kindergarten alone or spending the night at the grandparents’ house is hard for the child. Maybe a hospital stay is coming up. The parent paints a colored heart on their own palm and one on the child’s. Then they place heart on heart, palm on palm, and charge the child’s heart with a feeling that fits: love, courage or strength. The parent explains that the heart works like a charged battery and gives the child what they need, when they need it.

The parent can also ask whether the child feels the energy flowing while their hands touch. Later, one look at the heart, or the memory of this moment, gives the child the strength they need.

Everyday hypnosis at bedtime

Evening is a special time for this kind of work. Just before sleep, children are relaxed and receptive. Barbara Scholl has developed her own method for this moment, working with light at the child’s bed, to strengthen the child’s subconscious just before sleep.

She teaches it, along with more techniques and a guided self-hypnosis for parents who want more calm in everyday family life, in an online webinar. It is aimed mainly at parents, but grandparents, teachers and educators can use it too.

What waking hypnosis can and cannot do

It is a way of speaking to children that uses their imagination and their trust. It can make small everyday moments easier, calm big feelings and strengthen a child’s sense of safety. Parents can use it without any special training, simply by choosing their words with care.

It is not a replacement for care. Injuries and illness belong with a doctor. If a child struggles for a longer time with fears, sleep or behavior, talk to your pediatrician. And if you want to help children with bigger concerns, that takes training.

Learning hypnosis for children

If you want to learn the art of child hypnosis yourself, Barbara Scholl’s OMNI HypnoKids® training teaches you what you need to help children with small and big concerns. “The gratitude you receive from children as a hypnotherapist is very rewarding,” she says. “What’s more, working with children is a lot of fun and progress is quickly noticeable and visible, because children often approach topics in a very playful way.”

About Barbara Scholl

Barbara Scholl grew up in Switzerland, Brazil and the USA and worked as an English teacher at a secondary school for 14 years. When this article first appeared, she was married and the mother of three teenagers. Influenced by her brother Hansruedi Wipf’s many years of work in hypnosis, she completed the OMNI hypnotherapist training in 2008. Her connection with children and teens soon led her to specialize in this field. She works at the OMNI Hypnosis Center in Effretikon, leads the OMNI HypnoKids® training and speaks at congresses in Switzerland and abroad.

Your next step: see the HypnoKids® Specialist Certification and learn how to use hypnosis with children and teens, online and at your own pace.