What Is Mindfulness For Kids? How To Teach Mindfulness To Kids?​

Mindfulness benefits adults and the whole family. It can increase emotional regulation, slow down thoughts, improve sleep and eating habits, and create a healthier and happier home for everyone. There are many ways to practice mindfulness; some are ideal for children of varying ages, allowing you to bring peace to your home.

At the preschool age, children learn new habits and are still learning about the world around them. This is a great time to teach them about mindfulness and intentionally interacting with others and the world. This includes stopping to take deep breaths, presented to them as blowing out the candle breathing. Have them slow down and breathe at the end of an activity, when it is time to switch to something new, before bed to calm down for sleep, and at any other time of the day. By getting them to do candle breathing before they get frustrated, you can prevent meltdowns and better determine their needs. Walking daily or a few days a week is a great way to teach mindfulness to children. Have them look for plants, name animals they see or hear, touch trees and feel the textures around them, and discuss the weather and things they smell. These all help to bring the focus to one thing at a time and experience it fully. Help them describe their emotions and feelings so they can feel how they feel and put words into it, making them both mindful and able to learn how to express feelings without acting them out.

As children enter elementary school, they learn how to interact with new people of all ages and operate as part of a group. This age is critical for learning to focus on their own choices and tasks, and after a day of school, they will often need downtime when they get home. The longer days, noises, and larger groups of kids can be overwhelming for all kids, and using mindfulness to reset can help them manage all the new experiences.

Beginning with feeling the textures of their clothing and selecting the most comfortable ones, have them chew their food slowly, feel how it moves in their mouth, and brush their teeth for the total amount of time with slow circles. After school, have an excellent downtime with deep breathing or candle breathing, slow stretches of hands overhead and reaching tall, a snack, and some time to sit and relax for 5 to 10 minutes. Taking walks or going to the park and seeking new flowers, animals, and bugs are great ways to bring the focus to the small details and share mindful moments. Building this habit helps them observe their surroundings, keeps them safer when crossing roads and engaging in activities, and improves cognizant awareness.

Moving towards the teenage years, kids will begin to find ways to do things, so the focus switches from teaching them to do mindful things to instead teaching them to do their favourite things mindfully. Reading a book is a meditative experience; riding a bike and feeling how each muscle in the leg moves is mindful and prevents injury; slowly eating a meal together and discussing the flavours and textures, spices, and cooking methods can bond a family and practice mindfulness. When they play video games, have them take frequent breaks, stretch, and pay attention to how their body feels as they sit and stand. Continue going on walks, seeking new plants and animals, and walking on different types of ground and in all kinds of weather.

As kids age, they will spend less time with their family and more time with friends, engage in activities, play sports, and keep up with schoolwork. At these moments, all the habits and lessons from the other stages will become part of who they are as adults. Keep encouraging deep breathing when frustration builds, share experiences like cooking and eating, and engage in other games without screen time during them. Please enable them to do one thing at a time, do it slowly and with intention, and find ways to bring focus to one task at a time.

There are several benefits to living life mindfully, including better control over how emotions are expressed, lower rates of depression, better sleeping habits, improved focus, and lower Stress responses. Including mindfulness early in childhood can help them grow into healthy and happy adults, enhance family relationships and interactions, and provide ways to manage Stress. To encourage mindfulness begins with practising it yourself, paying attention to your surroundings and engaging with things intentionally. Own items with a purpose, do things that bring you joy and do them with your children. Breathing techniques, stretching, feeling the muscles move and how they move, finding new sites, sounds, and textures, and doing just one thing at a time can all introduce mindfulness to children quickly. As their awareness of their body and mind grows, they'll be able to share feelings without frustration, stop the growing anger or communicate when they are sad in less disruptive and more effective ways.