Dragon's Candle Challenge

A birthday-candle distance game — the child blows out a tea light from farther and farther away, learning to gather a breath, purse the lips, and aim a strong, narrow stream of air.

Put one tea light in a sturdy holder on a metal tray at the far edge of a table. Stick tape marks on the table at 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm from the candle. The adult lights it; the child’s hair is tied back and sleeves pushed up.
The child sits or kneels with their chin level with the flame at the 10 cm mark. “Smell the flower” (breath in through the nose), then make a small round dragon mouth and blow — one breath.
Flame out? The dragon moves back to the next mark. The adult relights each time.
At each distance, ask what changed — “Did you need a bigger breath? A smaller mouth?” A wide-open mouth spreads the air; tight round lips make a jet.
Finish with the opposite skill — the “sleepy dragon” — back at the 10 cm mark, the child blows so gently that the flame bends and dances but does not go out, for a count of five.

Variation: no flame needed — hang a strip of tissue paper from the table edge or stand a pinwheel at the far end and use the same distance marks; or line up three unlit candles with a small paper “flame” folded over each and blow them down one at a time.

Requirements

Space: A clear table away from curtains, papers, and draughts
Surface: Stable table; candle on a metal tray or ceramic plate
Materials: A tea light in a sturdy holder, matches or a lighter kept by the adult, tape and a ruler; or a tissue strip or pinwheel for the flame-free version
Participants: 1 adult + 1 child (one blower at a time if siblings join)
Supervision: Constant, hands-on — the adult lights and relights the candle and stays within arm's reach throughout

Rationale & Objective

Blowing out a candle from 20 cm is this subdomain’s benchmark for controlled breath, and it bundles several skills: taking a fuller breath on purpose, closing off the nose so the air leaves through the mouth, rounding the lips firmly, and aiming the airstream. Distance makes the task self-grading — each step back demands more breath support and a tighter lip shape — while the “sleepy dragon” round trains the opposite, a soft sustained breath, so the child practises grading force rather than only maximum effort. Clinical oral mechanism examinations for young children, such as the protocol of Robbins & Klee (1987), include blowing, lip rounding, and puffing the cheeks among the movements they sample, which is why the skill appears in oral-motor checklists. As with all blowing games, the benefit is functional breath and lip control — reviews such as Lee & Gibbon (2015) find no reliable evidence that it improves speech sounds, so it should not be used as a substitute for speech therapy.

Progress Indicators

Early: needs several puffs from 5–10 cm; blows with a wide-open mouth or puffs the cheeks with little air coming out; air misses the flame; forgets to breathe in first
Developing: puts the flame out in one breath from about 10–15 cm; lips rounded but aim is hit-and-miss; needs a reminder to take a breath first
Proficient: blows the candle out in one breath from 20 cm reliably, with a rounded mouth and a clear breath in beforehand; can make the flame flicker without going out for a moment
Advanced: succeeds from 30–40 cm; holds a steady gentle breath that bends the flame for 5 seconds without extinguishing it; switches between strong and gentle on request

Safety Notes

An adult lights the candle, keeps the matches or lighter, and never leaves the child alone with a flame — not even to answer the door
Tie back long hair, push up loose sleeves, and keep the child’s face at the marked distance — never leaning over the flame
Use a short, stable tea light on a non-flammable tray; hot wax can splash when blown hard, so keep hands off the tray
Limit it to about 8–10 strong blows with pauses; repeated hard blowing can cause dizziness — stop and breathe normally if the child feels light-headed
Use the tissue-strip or pinwheel version for children who are impulsive around fire, have asthma triggered by smoke, or when you cannot give full attention
If air escapes through the nose when the child tries to blow, or they cannot blow out a candle at close range by 5, mention it to a pediatrician or speech-language pathologist

Hints

Playfulness: the child is a dragon who has to put out the campfire without waking the knights; sing “Happy Birthday” to a teddy before each blow
Sustain interest: keep a “dragon record” of the farthest mark reached; try two candles side by side with one breath; let the child measure and place the tape marks
Common mistake: letting the child creep forward or take three quick puffs. One mark, one breath — and praise the breath in and the round lips, not just the result
No-equipment adaptation: hold up your index finger as the “candle” and curl it down when you feel the child’s breath arrive; step back to make it harder
Cross-domain: measuring and reading the centimetre marks (measurement); predicting “Will it go out from here?” (early science); waiting calmly for the relight (self-regulation); fire-safety talk (health and safety)
Progression: 10 cm in several puffs → 10 cm in one breath → 20 cm → 30–40 cm → gentle flicker-without-out → two candles in one breath

Sources

Robbins, J. & Klee, T. (1987), “Clinical assessment of oropharyngeal motor development in young children,” Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 52(3), 271–277
Lee, A.S.-Y. & Gibbon, F.E. (2015), “Non-speech oral motor treatment for children with developmental speech sound disorders,” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Lof, G.L. & Watson, M.M. (2008), “A nationwide survey of nonspeech oral motor exercise use: implications for evidence-based practice,” Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 39(3)
AOTA Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF-4) — respiratory and oral motor functions supporting daily activities
Polish preschool speech-therapy practice (ćwiczenia oddechowe — breathing exercises such as blowing out candles, used alongside the Podstawa Programowa)