Teaching families healthy ways to cope with big emotions is an important protective factor to buffer the effects of toxic stress. First 5 California worked with Rescue Agency to develop "Dragon Song," a breathing technique designed to help children self-soothe during moments of stress and avoid tantrums by taking a moment to breathe. The song encourages children to mimic a dragon’s breathing, providing a constructive outlet for their emotions. 

We’re excited to share the news about our recent creative partnership between First 5 California and Doggyland, the entertainment platform co-created by Snoop Dogg, Emmy-nominated producer Claude Brooks, and singer/songwriter October Londo.

Doggyland aired a new episode on March 5 called "Just Breathe," which features a remixed version of First 5 California’s "Dragon Song" along with kid-friendly choreography and animation. The episode provides a fun and engaging way for children to learn self-soothing techniques and manage their emotions effectively.

In addition to the "Just Breathe" episode, we collaborated on a series of social posts and short videos featuring children enjoying dancing and singing along with the remixed "Dragon Song." The series also features the song "Just Breathe" in American Sign Language (ASL).

At Rescue Agency, we’ve worked with many different influencers across our campaigns to authentically reach our intended audience. You can learn more about working with influencers by reading "Influencers 101: Best Practices for Public Health Campaigns," co-created with the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Tobacco Products.

If you’d like to learn more about working with us on your next early childhood education campaign, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.

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Connect with Us

Rescue’s change agents are traveling around the world to share our behavior change research and strategies with our fellow health communicators. If you’re planning to attend any of these events, we’d love to meet you.

• March 25-27 at the First 5 Child Health, Education, and Care Summit
• April 1-4 at the Rx Summit: Visit our booth No. 209 in the exhibit hall and join our educational sessions:
  • “Communications During an Evolving Crisis: Designing Evergreen and Urgent Messaging to Reduce Overdoses in Your Community”
  • “Revolutionizing Harm Reduction Messaging for Opioids, Meth, and Cannabis”
• May 21-23 at the National Network of Public Health Institutes Annual Conference: Join our educational session:
  • “An Equitable Approach to Address Rural Teen Vaping and Tobacco Use”