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Meditation is the natural antidote to the stress and sensory overload that children experience on a daily basis at school and home. It allows them to develop focus, regulate their own emotions and pay attention thoroughly in any situation. Overall, meditation imparts a sense of centre and balance and builds resilience.

How Can Your Child Get Started with Meditation?

Children tend to have a higher spiritual connection, unlike adults who are prone to have a dominating ego, limiting beliefs and years of layering and conditioning. With practice, they can easily shut down their egos and connect to their inner self when they are taught how to do so. You could start at home or by enrolling your child at the nearest centre that teaches meditation for children. School programs that offer meditation are also a great way to get your child started.

Types of Meditation

A number of techniques can be used to still the mind into a meditative state and some are specifically designed to be appealing to children and easy to do.

1. Guided Meditation

Guided meditation is a method that brings a visual component to breathing exercises that stop the minds of children from wandering during meditation and keeps it focused.

2. The Balloon

The technique involves teaching children to visualise their abdomen as a balloon. Every time they inhale, they imagine their belly expanding like a balloon and letting the breath out is like letting the air out of the balloon. This may be harder to demonstrate to kids who are under the age of 6 as sitting still for long isn't much fun. Try adding an extra movement to the exercise such as stretching out their arms out and overhead as they inhale to represent their imaginary balloon expanding.

3. Follow the Leader

If your child has a big brother or a best bud that they look up to as a leader figure, this method can be used for meditation. The breath is the leader and your child's mind is the follower and the mind follows the leader to where he leads. Follow the breath as it moves inside and out and count the number of breaths at the end of every exhale. If the child is usually the leader, they can imagine themselves to be the breath and their best bud, their mind.

4. Guided Relaxation Practices

This is a great technique that can be used by people of all ages when they are stressed out or unable to sleep. It involves systematically contracting and relaxing parts of the body while breathing slow and deep in sync with the body. For example, lie down comfortably and take a few deep cleansing breaths while you relax. Focus the attention on one of the foot and tense and squeeze it tight for two deep breaths. Relax the foot immediately and feel the tension being released as you exhale slowly. Repeat the same with the other foot and continue the process moving up the body at points such as the calf, knee, thighs, and hips and so on.

5. Classroom Meditation

Meditation before a class such as mathematics can help students learn better and score higher grades. Just before the start of the class, students are made to sit in a relaxed position in their seats with their hands on the desk, feet flat on the floor and the back straight. The eyes are relaxed and closed while they listen to a chant or hum it themselves.

Meditation Techniques for Kids

Children of different age groups learn differently and getting them to sit still in a place for long periods is almost impossible. Adding physical movements and mental visualizations along with breathing techniques is an effective way to get them to meditate.

Children of Age 3-7 Years

For children in this age group, try the lotus breath which connects to the breath and feelings. Starting the session off with fun activities that involve songs or discussions that build up to the idea or focusing their attention on an imaginary lotus flower. The children are instructed to make the lotus mudra by touching their thumbs and pinkies together to create a lotus. Then take a deep breath and imagine the flower's fragrance and how they feel after smelling it. The session can proceed with questions about how they feel at that moment, how their day was and what emotions went through them.

Children of Age 8 Years & Above

Meditative breathing techniques can be taught to children after this age. Once they master the balloon breath, they can be introduced to the more advanced Bear Breath. This fabulous breathing technique relieves stress and anxiety and can be done at any time during the day to feel calm and focused. The technique involves breathing through the nose for 4 counts, holding in the breath for 4 counts and releasing it for 4 counts through the nose.

Benefits of Meditation for Kids

Hundreds of studies on meditation conducted over the years show positive health benefits such as improvement in emotional intelligence, brain functioning, psychological development and more. For a deeper understanding, its benefits can be understood at levels such as:

1. Psychological Benefits

Meditation and focused attention help children to better explore their minds and come up with new ideas. Their memory is also improved which leads to better performance and grades in school. It also reduces anxiety and their need to be constantly entertained, it allows them to slow down and analyse themselves which prevents addictive tendencies.

2. Emotional Benefits

Meditation helps develop more positive emotions and a better control over the negative ones. The children learn to appreciate their surroundings and what they have with a general positive outlook on life. They also become more kind and affectionate towards others and build a greater ability to love. Their higher emotional intelligence leads to more confidence and happiness.

3. Physical Benefits

The relaxing effects of meditation help children sleep well. The results are good concentration, a stronger immune system and a healthily functioning body.

Tips to Keep in Mind When Teaching Kids Meditation

1. Begin With the Breath

The mind follows the breath. There can be no meditation without proper breathing; therefore it is imperative to lay down a strong foundation for breathing techniques. Since most meditation methods begin with the breath as an anchor, children who have proficiency in breathing techniques can meditate well.

2. Learning to Let Go

Not all kids can follow the instructions fully, they don't always respond in the way we expect them to. Therefore tailor the meditation technique a little to better suit their personality. For example, some children may not want to close their eyes, and instead of forcing them to do so, you can give them something to look at as they sit in their meditative posture. In the end, meditation is a personal journey for both them and you.

3. Put Imagination to Good Use

Giving them something peaceful, safe and serene to imagine is a good guided meditation practice. Children are natural at constructive imagination and there's no end to the fun things they can bring to a meditative session.

4. Be Patient

Children are bound to be restless in the beginning. It takes a while before they learn to settle down in a meditation session. Let go and allow their energies to find its own balance. There are plenty of approaches to mindfulness and meditation, therefore do not get attached to any.

5. Practice as You Preach

Meditate along with your children as you teach them. It works the better two-way street and makes it a valuable an experience both ways.

Meditation, when taught at a young age, can help children deal with stress, better manage their emotions and grow up to live healthier lives.
Also Read: 15 Fun Learning Activities for Kids

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Meditation for Kids: Types, Techniques & Benefits

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Last Updated on Meditation is the natural antidote to the stress and sensory overload that children experience on a daily basis at school and home. It allows them to develop focus, regulate their own emotions and pay attention thoroughly in any situation. Overall, meditation imparts a sense of centre and balance and builds resilience.

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The mental and physical benefits of meditation are now widely recognized. Not only for adults, but children too. Catherine Wilde, Kids Yoga & Meditation Teacher states, "Similar to adults, children are inundated with information on a daily basis. Learning meditation from an early age can be extremely beneficial for kids."

Tiana Woolridge, MPH, MD '20, Wellness Consultant, notes that a staggering 'One in five children experience mental health issues." Woolridge says, "If we can provide a blanket of support and teach students how to maintain balance and find peace, then there is no limit to what our students can achieve."

Dr. Bryan Bruno, Founder and Medical Director at Mid City TMS, further explains, " Meditation is one of the healthiest activities that a parent can do with their child. Meditation affects different parts of the brain, including the parietal lobe. Activity in the parietal lobe slows down during meditation, and children are able to process information more clearly."

So, what is meditation?

Wilde explains, "Meditation is the process of turning inward, calming the mind, and practicing presence."

While this provides a great basic explanation, meditation can take many forms, hundreds in fact, including guided verse non-guided meditations, and calming verse insight meditations.

Headspace has a great article breaking these different types of meditation down further, with some free examples you can try out here.

That leads us to the next question, why should we encourage children to meditate?

Andrea Gurney, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, states " Kids who practice meditation and mindfulness reap a host of benefits, including but not limited to increased focus, self-control, coping strategies, emotional regulation, and better relationships.

In our fast-paced, multitasking world, it can be incredibly helpful for children to learn to slow down, breathe deeply, clear their minds, and practice mindfulness; arguably, it is becoming more essential for us to teach children how to do this given the rise in children's anxiety, depression, and stress."

11 experts dive deeper to explain these benefits, sharing the various reasons we should encourage kids to meditate.
1. Learn Core Emotional Regulation Skills
Kids who learn to meditate are able to learn "core skills" necessary for emotion regulation such as proper breathing, slowing the heart-rate, identifying symptoms of anxiety or sympathetic nervous system arousal, and "centering" themselves in the here and now. Some research suggests that meditation has both neurological and physiological benefits that can help kids on the Autism spectrum and those diagnosed with ADHD.

Some research even points to PTSD. As a child and adolescent therapist specializing in treating trauma, many of my trainings and even my own work makes use of meditation for kids. It's very important for adults to pause, reflect, and start again. It's even more important for kids who often get lost in the shuffle of daily life.

~ Tamara Hill, MS, NCC, CCTP, LPC, Practice Owner, Licensed Therapist, Certified Trauma Therapist, anchoredinknowledge.com
2. Reduce Stress & Anxiety
The practice of meditation can help to reduce stress and anxiety in children.

Teaching children to focus on their breath and other calming techniques can give them the tools to come back to a calm, present state anytime, day or night.

Whenever possible, allowing children screen-free time outdoors is an excellent way to help kids experience the calming beauty of nature. Also, listening to guided meditations for kids is a great way to help children get started on their meditation journey.

Even just a few minutes spent in meditation daily can have amazing benefits for kids.
~ Catherine Wilde, Kids Yoga & Meditation Teacher, Motherhood & Self Care Coach, 3. Opportunity to Unplug www.soulcaremom.com
Kids are people too, which means that they get stressed and overwhelmed just as much as adults do. They may even be more stressed than adults, as kids don't have the proper language or coping mechanisms to deal with their struggles.

Which is exactly where meditation for kids comes into play. Meditation is an opportunity for a child to unplug and just feel. It gives them coping mechanisms for dealing with stressful situations, and it helps their minds and bodies unite in one calming exercise. Teaching meditation to children can help improve their performance in school, their sleep patterns, and their overall emotion regulation.

~ Adina Mahalli (MCT), Certified Mental Health Consultant and Family Care Specialist, Maple Holistics, website.
4. Changes the Brain

Research has shown that when children practice meditation on a regular basis, it can change the brain. There is neuroplasticity. What this means is that our brains are not as fixed as once thought. Through meditation, brain centers for emotions and executive functioning can be changed and help children in a variety of ways.
~ Frank J. Sileo, PhD, Licensed psychologist, author, drfranksileo.com
It can also help children regulate their emotions, thereby having fewer meltdowns, reduce their impulsivity and improve concentration and focus. Very helpful with children diagnosed with ADHD or ADD.

5. Learn How to Breathe Properly
~ Dr. Nikola Djordjevic MD, 6. Creates Classroom Peace & Calm MedAlertHelp.org
From a health perspective, deep breathing which is characteristic of many meditation routines is also incredibly helpful. Even for adults, breathing properly is something not many of us know how to do! So kids that learn how to breathe properly will likely carry this sub-conscious habit into their teens and adulthood, which can only be beneficial.
~ 7. Build Emotional & Psychological Resilience Emily Denbow Morrison, M.Ed., Bucksport High School English Dept. University of Maine, Orono, Grad. Instructor. ~ Stephanie Wijkstrom MS, LPC, NBCC, Founder and Psychotherapist, The Counseling and Wellness Center of Pittsburgh, 8. Increases Focus counselingwellnesspgh.com ~ Lakiesha Russell, Licensed Mental Health Therapist, LPC of The Evolving Chair, 9. Improves Sleep theevolvingchair.com
Furthermore, I think that if meditation was introduced at kindergarten and in elementary school, it could help counteract low attention span and anxiety too. This could lead to fewer medication prescriptions such as Ritalin for "trouble kids", replacing it with the natural and healthy alternative: meditation.
~ Dr. Bryan Bruno, Founder and Medical Director at 10. Boost Physical & Emotional Health Mid City TMS. Mid City TMS is a New York City-based medical clinic focused on treating depression.
When it comes to meditation, as an educator, my advice is to keep it simple. Having routine moments of quiet time in your daily lesson plan really does help students calm down. It reduces the audio clutter going haywire in their heads, especially for students who struggle with attention deficit disorder.
~ Kristen Fescoe, Clinical Program Manager, 11. Improves Academic Performance Resility Health
Many of my students need time to refocus. Having five minutes of quiet with the lights off, the shades down, and the salt lamp on really does create a sense of peace and calm in the classroom, which in turn reduces their overall stress level, helps them relax, and encourages them to be respectful.

Over the life span, meditation has a significant and positive impact, we are seeing that when kids are introduced to meditation, just like learning a foreign language at a young age, the skill remains with them for life. It can easily be deduced that by learning meditation as a child, the child is set in the right direction to understand their thoughts, feelings, and their physical relationship within the body, they come to understand and experience the interconnectedness of all of them. Harnessing this kind of awareness as a child is a preventative tool that will allow the child greater emotional and psychological resilience as they grow into a happy and well-adjusted adulthood.

Put into practice meditation can benefit the whole family and can be practiced together, of course by modeling this healthy behavior, parents can further ensure that their children will pick up healthy coping techniques and wellness methods.

Meditation calms our bodies alarm system, which allows an increase in focus on the present moment. Because some meditations may require kids to focus on their breathing or focus on a word or on a sound for a duration of time, this helps to increase attention span to focus on completing things in the moment.

Kids who practice meditation can strengthen their immune system, lower stress, and even improve their sleeping.

In fact, the best times to meditate are right when you wake up and right before you go to sleep. Meditating before bed allows for deeper sleep, keeping your child well-rested and prepared for school or other activities.

Meditation can be a powerful tool for any parent who is looking to help boost their child's physical and emotional health.

Firstly, meditation has powerful positive implications on our physical health. People who meditate regularly have more effective immune systems, less frequent headaches, lower blood pressure, fewer aches and pains, and several other physical benefits.

Secondly, meditation has been proven to help with emotional health. Regular meditative practice can lower the rates of anxiety and depression, lengthen attention span, help children to become more self-aware and can also help boost their self-esteem.

Practiced meditation creates long-term neurological (brain) changes. This means kids, and adults, need regular practice (preferably 5 days a week for at least 15 minutes), rather than just once a week which is unlikely to be effective. Meditation is like any other skill, repetition is needed to build it.

These changes include:

Kids feel calmer and can control their emotions better

Kids have an increased emotional capacity to deal with stressful events such as exams or personal problems

Behaviour is improved

Lower levels of depression and anxiety

School attendance improves

Improved memory

For the above reasons, (which are visible on brain scans of regular meditators) meditation has enormous potential for improving academic performance in schools This YouTube clip explains more:

To summarize, Frank J. Sileo, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist and Author, puts it perfectly ~

" Research continues to grow in this area and more and more is being done. It is really a great way to exercise their minds and a practice that should be cultivated every day not just when a child is stressed or having a difficult time. It is also a fun practice that can be done together within families.

More and more schools are implementing meditation practices into their curriculums to help students and teachers. I call it the best portable app around because you always have your breath with you.

The practice of meditation is a positive, practical, portable and a scientifically proven way of being for kids (and adults!)"

Happy meditating!

Looking for a children's meditation resource? Check out Finding Your Path's new guided imagery meditation book for kids, 'The Magic Door Under Your Bed'~ Listen on

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The mental and physical benefits of meditation are now widely recognized. Not only for adults, but children too. Catherine Wilde, Kids Yoga & Meditation Teacher states, "Similar to adults, children are inundated with information on a daily basis. Learning meditation from an early age can be extremely beneficial for kids."

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Why Is Practicing Mindfulness Important for Children?

When you look at your child and take a glance into childhood, what is it that you see? Do you see unending curiosity, innocence, and whimsy or maybe you see the metaphorical blank canvas that is just waiting to be splashed with the colors of life.

As you, the parent, navigates daily life and all of the stress and struggles it contains, chances are you might look at your child with a little envy of the stress free simplicity of their lives. What you, like most parents, might be surprised to realize is that growing through the stages of childhood is actually quite difficult and stressful in its own right.

The truth is that children feel stress and a range of emotions, both positive and negative, similar to that of adults. The difference is that as adults, our minds and bodies have matured enough to be able to use learned coping strategies, primarily mindfulness, to bring us back to centered place that resides in the present, not the past or the future.

As parents and caregivers of children of all ages, we have a responsibility to help our children learn to cope with stress and emotions by teaching and demonstrating mindfulness to them.

"What", you may ask, "is so stressful about childhood?" Well, to begin with, a certain level of stress is normal for everyone. It helps us grow and develop and teaches us how to react to and process certain situations and circumstances. Think for a moment about what causes you stress, anxiety or unpleasant emotions.

For most of us it is a matter of things not going the way we had intended, experiencing changes, relationships and pressures to perform at work or to live up to expectations at home. Children have many of the same stressors in their lives. For the child, who is so enmeshed in the present, the slightest thing going wrong can cause an upheaval. The same is true when they experience separation anxiety, changes at home or to their routine, academic pressures and begin to discover the complexities of personal relationships.

Without techniques to help them cope, emotions can run wild and the child ends up feeling sad, miserable and defeated. By helping your child experience and practice mindfulness, you can help them navigate these difficult and delicate situations. Mindfulness can turn a stressed and anxious child into one that is happy, content and in control of their emotions.

When left to its own, our brains all respond to stress and anxiety triggers the same way, regardless of age. The things that bring us away from mindfulness are processed by the brain in the Limbic system, which is the area of the brain where the system of nerves controls our moods and instinctual actions. It is the powerhouse of emotion and memory.

When we practice mindfulness, we also engage the cortex, which is the part of the brain that bestows us with the ability to perform higher thought. By that, we mean that this is the part of the brain that controls our perception of stimuli, and the way we react in response. This part of the brain is also connected to speech, memory and the approach we take to solving problems, both big and small.

Concentrated mindfulness allows the cortex to influence the Limbic system and as a result we achieve a state of calm, purposeful thought that helps to guide us through the emotions that we are feeling. The point is not to totally take away the situations your child is experiencing trouble with, but instead help them learn how to cope, which is a valuable lifelong skill.

Benefits Of Mindfulness With Children

Practiced mindfulness can help your child in the following ways:

Mindful children experience less stress, anxiety and sadness

Mindful children are better able to cope with change and other stressors.

Mindful children have better sleep habits

Mindful children feel more connected to the people around them

Mindful children are more compassionate

Mindful children have more confidence in themselves and their decisions

Mindful children tend to perform better academically

Mindful children understand, feel and express gratitude more freely

Mindful children are better able to focus and concentrate

Mindful children are more resilient

Mindful children are all around happier and more content

Learn more about how mindful practice can help your child.

The Goal of Mindful Awareness: Enlightenment, Not Control

A ren't children supposed to impulsive with their thoughts and actions? Isn't that the way of childhood, to live only in the moment and learn the benefits and consequences of those actions? Will teaching mindfulness to my child deprive them of these experiences? Will I turn my child into a controlled robot? These are questions that stem from common misconceptions about mindfulness teaching and children. Mindful awareness doesn't take away the impulsiveness and freedom of childhood. Actually, it encourages creative thinking, problem solving and individuality.

While having an angelically behaved child can make parenting easier, the goal of mindfulness in children isn't about controlling them and their emotions. It is about giving them the tools to be able choose options other than anger, fear, anxiety, stress and disconnectedness. It is helping them notice the difference in how they feel when they focus mindfully on their thoughts and emotions. Practiced mindfulness allows your child to more freely enjoy the pleasures of childhood.

When To Practice

On this note, it is important to stress that there is a right time to encourage mindfulness and a wrong time to enforce it. By this I mean that mindfulness practice should never be used as a punishment or a response to your own frustrations. If you have a child that is in the midst of a tantrum or some sort of emotional turmoil, the best response is not to order them to their quiet place and practice mindful thought for ten minutes, like a time out. A better option is to first sympathize with the situation that the child is in, even if they are technically "in the wrong". Once you are feeling compassionate towards your child rather than frustrated, you can help them practice mindfulness, even if that means spending time in a quiet place with them or participating in other mindfulness promoting activities.

Keeping Mindfulness Fun

Y ou want to help your child when they are having trouble, just as any parent does. I feel that it is safe to say that most parenting experts would agree that treating your child and their feelings with respect is incredibly important to their development. The thing is that as adults, we sometimes forget how to engage with the younger mind.

We talk our children through their troubles as if they were a close friend sharing coffee and confiding their troubles. We may attempt to reason with them on a level that is too advanced for them to effectively process. On the flip side of this, we may tend to try to help them by minimizing the issue. When your child is upset because they feel they have been betrayed by a friend, be it a five year old taking a toy without asking or an adolescent sharing what was meant to be a secret, as parents we may tend to brush the incident aside with a hug and a few well meaning words meant to soothe.

These solutions might both let your child know that you care about them, but neither is really the best method of helping your child through the situation.

The first thing that you need to do is practice mindfulness yourself. Before you jump in to offer comfort, advice or a solution, think for a moment about just how important this must be to your child for them to be experiencing this reaction. Put yourself in their place and feel compassion for them. Next, be your child for a moment. Think about how to best approach a toddler, an eight year old or a teenager. Each approach will be different, and needs to be in order to be most effective. When you are able to relate on the same level as your children, teaching and practicing mindfulness is accomplished easier and becomes more enjoyable for them to learn.

I think it is the case that most of us learn best when we are having fun, or at the least not feeling like learning is a chore. This is even more true with children.

The best educators know how to present new information to children in a way that they are most likely to learn, retain and practice. The same mentality should be used for teaching mindfulness. That last thing you want is for mindfulness to feel like work, possibly adding additional stress to your child. You want to keep it fun and light whenever possible. Of course, the ways of doing this will depend upon the child's individual personality and also their age.

Age Based Tips
Here are a few age based, fun ways that you can help your child achieve mindfulness:
Toddler: Try blowing bubbles. This is potentially the most difficult age to teach mindfulness to, however the sooner you start the better it is for your child. Children this age have only a little ability to control their emotions and think of consequences. It is your responsibility to help teach and guide the child through this very sensitive age. When your toddler is upset one of the easiest ways to calm them down is simple distraction. But rather than changing the environment or distracting with a toy, bring the child to an area where you can blow bubbles. As you blow the bubbles, wave and say something like "good bye sad" or "fly away tears". This simple gesture connects the bubble blowing with a sense of letting go. The young child will take some time to grasp this concept, but something like this gives you a foundation, one that is also fun for both of you.

Five to Eight Year Olds: This is a very sensory dependent age where major developments in personality and emotion control take place. The child begins to associate what they feel and experience with themselves and begin to realize that they actually control over themselves. This is a perfect age to practice calming mindfulness activities, such as a calming jar. You may have seen this concept in various places on the internet, but it is most often referred to as a time out jar. Most children associate the term "time out" with punishment, which is why I have renamed it for this activity. It is simply a jar filled with water and glitter. When the child needs to practice mindfulness, they simply sit in a quiet spot, shake the jar and watch as the floating glitter settles to the bottom. This gives the child not only a chance to calm themselves, but the opportunity to spend some time with their own thoughts while enjoying the almost magical quality of the floating glitter.

Nine to Twelve Year Olds: At this age children are still impulsive, but have a certain understanding of how their behavior and reactions affect others, as well as the beginnings of understanding of how they choose to feel can make a difference in perception and general contentment. This is a good age to begin the practice of short, guided meditative sequences. Sit with your child in a quiet, undisturbed setting and have them close their eyes and relax as you recite a guided meditative visualization created specifically for children, or create one that is tailored to your child's specific interest. The guided meditations tend to take your child on some sort of journey where they either metaphorically conquer whatever may be bothering them or in some sense let it go.

For an age appropriate guided meditation for a child, you would first want to make them comfortable and as relaxed as possible. This usually involves a soft place to sit or rest their head and the removal of shoes. A familiar blanket or stuffed animal can add comfort and induce relaxation if the child requires it. Have the child close their eyes as you slowly recite a guided visualization such as this:

" Now that you are relaxed, I want you to take a deep breath and notice how it feels. Now take another, but this time think about how you are feeling in your heart and in your head. As you blow out this breath, I want you to blow out the any color that you see. Pretend that as you breathe out you are creating a bubble of color that has all of your feelings in it. It is a safe place to put your fear and anger, or anything else. Only you know what is inside the bubble, it is your secret. Your bubble can contain what you don't want in your body anymore or it can contain thoughts that you want to send out into the universe.
With each breath, grow it bigger and bigger, until it is so full that you cannot fit anymore in it. Now that your bubble is full, take one more really deep breath, feel the breath all the way down in your tummy. Now breathe it out and blow your bubble far, far away.
Now that your bubble is gone, think of a color that brings you happiness. Picture a beautiful, fluffy cloud of that color that comes down and surrounds you like your favorite blanket, keeping you safe and protected."

Teenagers: For teenagers, who are blossoming adults, it is important to recognize and respect their autonomy. There will be times when your teenager needs you to guide by your actions rather than instruct them. This is a good time to introduce how to sit and reflect with certain music. The style of music that helps each person come to a place of mindfulness is highly individual, so it is important to respect that. Ask your teenager to spend ten minutes in the morning just listening to music and focusing on the direction of their thoughts. You can also appeal to the pleasure sensors while coaching mindfulness in teens by introducing (and using them yourself) and number of apps that are available to guide meditative and reflective thought, many of which are geared towards a younger audience.

So, there were just a few ideas of ways to show how helping children and young adults to become mindful can be fun and enjoyable. This also brings about another important point and a question that many parents ask.

How Early Can I Start?

That is, what is the best age to teach mindfulness to a child and when is it too early or too late to begin? The answer to this is that whatever the age of your child is the perfect age to start. Even babies, who cognitively are not capable of that type of control over their emotions can learn soothing techniques, such as a gentle massage, or swaying to help calm. And a teenager who has never practiced mindfulness can appreciate how the concept can help them deal with the pressures of their daily lives and take those lessons with them into adulthood. The best time to introduce practiced mindfulness to your child is right now.

Introducing Mindfulness to Your Child

A s a parent, you want what is best for your child. If your child is having extra trouble coping with their emotions and gaining a sense of control over themselves and these difficulties are manifesting themselves in negative ways in your child's life, then you may feel more of a sense of urgency to help your child get started on the path to mindfulness. But, let's say your child appears to navigate the stressors of childhood with relative ease. Are mindfulness techniques still beneficial and why? Also, how do you go about introducing mindfulness to a child? The answer to the first question is that mindful practice is beneficial to all of us, regardless of age, temperament or life circumstances. Mindfulness is not a magic cure that is meant to erase all of the troubles from our lives, but rather a tool to make us more aware, more present and more compassionate.

Tailor The Practice

Secondly, there are many different ways to introduce mindfulness to your child, and the technique may be individualized depending upon your child and the stage of life they are at. For instance, a young child may need periods of quiet and rest sitting in your lap, while you gently calm them and illustrate compassion, while an older visually stimulated child may benefit more from the calming jar or something as simple as swirling food coloring into a bowl of milk and focusing on the patterns and color changes as they do so. One child may be able to easily calm their mind by simply sitting in a quiet room and thinking about pleasant things, while another child might actually need some sort of stimulation to induce calmness.

You know your child better than anyone else, and you will be able to notice which techniques are helpful and which are not.

Adjust the techniques as needed, but also remember that adjusting to mindful thinking takes time and repetition. Do not switch techniques without being sure that you have given it ample time for your child to adapt. And, most importantly, do not give up. Practiced mindfulness is one of the most important skills that you can give you child.

With that said, you need to know how to get started. Following are important first steps and techniques for introducing mindful thinking to your child.

First Steps

First of all, practice it yourself. This is potentially the most important thing that you can do the help your child become more mindful and aware. Children are natural observers and when you practice mindfulness, them learning it will seem like second nature. If you're new to mindfulness or want to freshen you practice you can check this link for free guided mindfulness meditations from UCLA Health. They offer online classes for adults as well.

Take advantage of the quiet times. Mindfulness should not be made into a big deal, especially in the beginning when the concepts are new. The best way to introduce mindfulness is by practicing it in the moments when your child is calm and not stressed.

One way to start is by simply talking to your child. Ask them how they are feeling, if anything has upset them recently and show compassion, no matter what their answers.

Unplug from technology and spend time together. Go for a walk and point out things to your child that they may not have noticed before, and have them point out things to you. You might notice the different shades of pink of your neighbor's flowers, but never once noticed the crack in the sidewalk that your child looks at each time they cross it. Chances are your child sees the pebbles and random blades of grass that spring from it. They likely also know that it is a favorite spot for ants to scurry through. Your child notices an incredible amount of detail every day. Help them realize it by stopping to experience it with them.

Use periods of calm and quiet to help your child get in touch with their senses. Play sensory games on a quiet afternoon, like a mystery grab bag where each item has a unique texture and have your child try to guess what it is. At the end, ask your child what their favorite item was and why. Was it the soft feather that gently tickled their fingertips or was the smooth rock that felt cooling against their hands? Learning what sensations your child likes will help you find items to bring into your child's mindfulness practice. The same is true for other senses. You can use a blindfold and explore different smells or experiment with different types of music and how they make you feel.

Tell a story. Use down time to have your child sit back and close their eyes while you tell them a story or guided meditation. Tell them that while their eyes are closed that you want them to imagine that they are actually in the story while you are telling it. When you are done ask them how they felt and what they saw.

Help them to recognize their emotions. This might seem too simple, but it is actually an important first step in teaching your child mindfulness. Of course your child recognizes their emotions when they are at extremes. But, how are they are recognizing the feelings that lead up to the extremes? You can help them become aware of these subtle changes in mood and emotions. A good place to start is when your child is happy or content. Ask them how they are feeling, but take it further. Talk to them about how their body feels. When they are excited about an upcoming trip, ask them if they feel butterflies in their stomach or how their face feels when they can't keep their smile off of it. Later, use this same technique when your child is upset. Ask them how their stomach feels, how the muscles in their body feel. Help them discover where in their bodies that they physically feel emotions. As your child becomes tuned into these subtle body changes, they will be able to recognize them before they reach an unpleasant extreme.

Teach them to breathe. We all breathe, it is vital to life, but how often do we stop and concentrate on our breath? This is a single act that helps a child break themselves away from the stressful situation, even for a moment. When you take a moment to stop and think about something that is so natural and instinctive, it causes a change in how your body is thinking and processing almost instantly. This is also one of the first techniques that you should teach because it can be done anywhere, at any time. This like the other techniques should first be introduced when your child is calm. Show them how to breathe in deeply, hold it for a second and then slowly let it go. If you have a younger child, or one that is influenced by imagery, you can add the visualization of blowing a certain color out when letting go of the breath. For example, if the child is angry they can blow out red (or whatever color they personally associate with anger); if they are feeling peaceful maybe they will blow out pink or purple. Have them place a hand over their chest and stomach and feel their own breath coming in and going out of their bodies. This beginning awareness will be helpful as eventually you teach them how breathing can bring them calmness and awareness.

Talk to your child about mindfulness. You don't want your child to feel as if they are being tricked into this. Keeping open communication is very important. Once you have introduced some of the basic concepts during times when your child is calm and content, you can begin discussing with them how they can use the very same techniques to help calm themselves, make them less sad and afraid while making them more compassionate and connected. Once you have begun this process begin to use the techniques when you see your child beginning to struggle. How you approach the subject will depend greatly on your child's age and emotional development. For example, you can have quiet open conversations about mindfulness with an adolescent on a level that a younger child is just not going to understand. A younger child will relate more on an emotional level, especially when you approach it from their point of view. Here's a post on how to explain mindfulness to children.

How Will I Know It's Working?

Get some feedback. There are two main ways that you will know how mindfulness practice is affecting your child. The first is by your observations. The second is by asking the child how they feel before, during and after practicing mindful awareness and techniques. Do not be discouraged if at first your child seems negative, or just plain unimpressed with the idea. Changes take time, but it is extremely important to understand where they are coming from so that you can help them to move forward.

Mindful Activities and Techniques

O nce you have begun the introduction of mindfulness into yours and your child's life, you can then begin to introduce more concentrated activities meant to specifically bring your child to a more centered place when they are experiencing any type of distress. Here are a few ideas of mindful activities that are suitable for a wide range of ages:

The Quiet Place: We all need a place to go, where we can be alone with our thoughts, especially when we are upset or troubled. Children are no different. Have a designated area in your house that is a quiet place. Do not confuse this with a time out punishment place. The quiet place can be an area created just for mindfulness, or just a place where your child feels the most comfortable. If possible, fill the space with items that promote mindfulness. For example, soft blankets and pillows if you child wants to sit or relax while they calm themselves, or a music player with ear buds loaded with relaxing music or prerecorded meditative scripts. Fill the area with calming colors and textures, and anything that your child has indicated brings them to a more peaceful, centered place. Make sure the quiet place has an open door policy. No matter what is going on, let your child go to the quiet place if they need to, without question.

Take the Quiet Place To-Go: You will not always be at home when your child needs to practice mindfulness, and your child may not be at the point where all they need to do is breathe and center their thoughts. For these cases, it is good to have a mindfulness kit. This can be just a small bag that contains age appropriate mindfulness inducers, such as music, essential oils, sensory items or even a journal to write in or draw through their emotions.

Breathe: If you have already introduced breath awareness to your child, this one is easy to implement. Help coach your child through guided and relaxed breathing, helping them see how their emotional state changes through the process. Do this anywhere and everywhere so that your child will recognize it as a strategy that can be used at any time.

Get Artsy: This is a simple technique that appeals to all ages. Present your child with some art materials and help or encourage them to show how they are feeling through art. This might be erratic scribbles for a young child to simple clay sculptures for an older child. This works for a couple of different reasons. First, it helps the child focus on something other than intense negative feelings and emotions. Secondly, making feelings into something tangible makes them more real and when something is real, we can more effective cope with it. Third, you can keep your child's art and show them the difference between their art when they are upset and their art when they are calm and mindful. Help them to see how they were able to move themselves from one place to the next.

Do Regular Meditative or Guided Readings: This is especially helpful for highly creative and visual children. Short meditative scripts will not only relax them and provide them a much needed break from stress and worry, but it will also imprint a scenario in their minds that they can return to when they feel the need to center and become mindful.

Help Others: Getting your children involved in helping other, even in small ways, helps them to develop an awareness about themselves that extends further than just their immediate needs, wants and feelings. Compassion is a big part of mindfulness, and it is also a concept that must be demonstrated, practiced and learned.

Develop Mindful Routines: Help your child to commit to mindful practices, even when they are not feeling stressed. For example, some quiet mindful awareness at the beginning or end of the school day can make a tremendous difference in an adolescent, especially when done on a regular basis, while taking some time to hold your child's hand and breathe with them each night before bed can be just what a tense or hyper younger child needs to get a relaxing, good night's sleep. When something is routine, it becomes familiar and when we are stressed we turn towards what we know. Turning towards mindfulness will eventually become instinctual.

Practicing What You Preach: Mindful Parenting

H ave you heard of the term "emotional contagion"? Emotional contagion is the ability for two or more individuals to synchronize their thoughts, actions and emotions simply by being in close physical or emotional space with another person. In other words, your children will do what you do, not what you say. Emotional contagion is a very real and very important concept, and children are especially affected. Your child, and how mindful they are, is formed by you and your experiences with them. Here is a great link that explores emotional contagion.

Even the teenager that seemingly wants nothing to do with their parent, is still looking towards you for guidance and direction, even when they are not totally aware of it. This is why your own practice of mindfulness is so important.

Practicing mindful parenting does not involve any complicated techniques, rather it is more about being instinctual in your parenting style. So many times we find ourselves as parents to be rushed, over burdened and over tired. Our fuses are short and what we want is the simplest and quickest solution to the problem. This is why many times when a young child is upset, we may be quick to dismiss by drying a tear and saying it isn't that big of a deal, or don't worry it will get better. Your child may exhibit an improvement in mood, but the issue is still within them, unresolved.

Mindful parenting means that we have to stop being dismissive and take the time to really understand what our child is going through, even when they have done something wrong. It doesn't mean that you will no longer discipline your child. But it does mean that along with disciplining them when appropriate that you are also helping them to realize how they got to this point in the first place and how to prevent it from happening again. This means that you have to become more aware of your own thoughts and emotions as your child is always watching you, keeping mental track of how you react and behave.

Mindful parenting can be achieved though simple techniques such as practicing the same strategies that you expect from your child, practicing being more compassionate and patient, giving your child ample love in the form of words and actions, helping them to see that they are not alone, and being the first to admit when you haven't acted in a mindful manner. It is difficult to be mindful all of the time, let your child see this in you and let them see what you do to make it better and bring about calm and mindfulness in yourself. You and your child are in this together, for life. You can help each other grow, learn and thrive through mindfulness.

May you be happy and healthy!

This guide is a collaboration between Chris Bergstrom and Angel Woodard. Let us know what you think.

UPDATE: Many parents have asked us for more fun exercises to help keep practice fresh and engaging. Here's our answer... we hope you like it!
Book: "102 Playful Mindfulness Activities For Kids, Teens and Grown-ups"
Childhood is meant to be a carefree time, full of fun, whimsy and abandon. Childhood is also a time of amazing growth, physically, but also emotionally. You may have noticed that your child, or even other children, seem to be having a more difficult time navigating the many changes that take place during these formative years. As a parent, it is easy to think of your own childhood and recall the "simplicity" compared to your life now. This might leave you a little out of touch with how to best approach and help your child during their periods of struggle. The truth is that children today do have more to cope with on a daily basis than many generations before. Their world is made larger by virtual communities and social media, there is more academic pressure put upon them, family structure is ever changing and we live in a world where turmoil and danger sometimes seem just a fingertip away. As a parent or caretaker of a child, you want to know how to best help them through these unfamiliar growing pains. This is where "102 Playful Mindfulness Activities" can enable you to help and guide your child.

Mindfulness for children isn't a new, passing scheme or fad. Instead, it is about helping your child to connect to the world around them, helping them learn how to handle their emotions and how to become a more compassionate, aware human being. Practicing mindfulness with your child will help to reduce child anxiety, stress, meltdowns and disconnection. The ultimate goal is to give your child the tools they need to live fulfilling lives as adults. This book will show you that there is no complicated process to achieving this, but rather a series of small adjustments and activities, meant to bring both you and your child to a more mindful, peaceful and content place in your lives. Reading this book and following the advice within, is one of the most important things you can do for your child now and in the future. Sign up below to be notified when the book is available.

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How To Practice Mindfulness With Children - The Essential Guide - Blissful Kids

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When you look at your child and take a glance into childhood, what is it that you see? Do you see unending curiosity, innocence, and whimsy or maybe you see the metaphorical blank canvas that is just waiting to be splashed with the colors of life.

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Our kids are busier than ever, and practicing mindfulness can help reduce their anxiety, improve focus and memory, and make falling asleep easier, research suggests. These apps will chill your child out and teach him to learn the basics of meditation.
1. Headspace for Kids
The popular adult mindfulness app now has a kids' series of breathing exercises, visualizations, and meditations grouped into five categories: kindness, focus, sleep, calm, and wake-up. Choose the one that best suits your child's needs. 5 and under, 6 to 8, 9 to 12; $12.99 per month or $69.99 per year.
2. Stop, Breathe & Think
With an emphasis on fun activities and meditations, this app is designed to help kids with focus, quiet, peaceful sleep, and processing emotions. Your little one will learn mindful breathing and the importance of checking in with herself. She'll also win stickers for completing "missions." Ages 5-10; download for free.
3. Mindfulness for Children
Developed by a Danish psychologist, this audio-only app offers easy-to-follow breathing exercises for your kid to use any time she's feeling stressed. Other activities like the body scan will help her relax, and soothing nature sounds can lull her to sleep. 5+ years; free for Mindful Family package and $4.99 for Premium package.
4. Thrive Global
Here's another skill set from Amazon Echo. If your kid needs help quieting his mind during the day, he can say, "Alexa, open Thrive" and ask for a meditation. On nights when he can't sleep, a "power down" will do the trick-and keep screens out of the bedroom. Download for free.
5. Smiling Mind
This app offers mindfulness sessions, developed by a team of psychologists, that start with a quick series of questions to focus the mind followed by simple, easy-to-follow meditation exercises. Download for free.
6. Sleep Meditations for Kids
The perfect app to incorporate into your bedtime routine, Sleep Meditations for Kids has four bedtime stories that are transformed into guided meditations designed to promote relaxation and contentment. Download for free.

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6 Mindfulness and Meditation Apps for Kids

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Our kids are busier than ever, and practicing mindfulness can help reduce their anxiety, improve focus and memory, and make falling asleep easier, research suggests. These apps will chill your child out and teach him to learn the basics of meditation. 1.

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The 2020-21 school year is bound to be one of the most stressful that students and teachers have ever had to endure. Distancing, masks, and increased sanitation will serve as constant reminders of the invisible enemy threatening their routines, their safety, and their lives. Avoiding these stressors with remote learning is no longer an option in many cases. A second-best line of defense is mitigating the body's and mind's stress responses to them. Classroom mindfulness and movement routines will help everyone - teachers included - cope with the stress of change and uncertainty. Here are some of the best mindfulness and meditation apps and websites. Teachers and students can use these to restore composure and tranquility in an educational climate filled with uncertainty and unease.

Enjoy a robust library of meditations, stretches, relaxing sounds, and nature scenes in the Calm app. The Daily Calm is a ten-minute meditation that focuses on a new strategy each day. It is the perfect way to build a consistent classroom mindfulness practice. The Kids collection features age-appropriate series of meditations that are ideal for students. Calm's Sleep Stories are just what teachers need to stop nighttime rumination about work and drift off into a peaceful sleep. Through the Calm Schools Initiative , teachers can access a free subscription to the app and resources for introducing mindfulness in schools.

In addition to a wide variety of meditations, the Headspace app offers courses for specific mindfulness needs. This includes appreciation, focus, self-esteem, and many more. For troublesome nights, Headspace can help teachers relax into sleep. Its collection of nighttime audio includes Sleepcasts, Nighttime SOS, and Sleep radio. The Move collection features workouts of varying intensity. This will help teachers commit to their physical wellbeing as well as their mental wellness. At Headspace for Educators , teachers can take advantage of free access to the app. This includes self-care resources, mindfulness tips, and age-appropriate mindfulness videos for students.

Based on Dan Harris's book of the same title, this assembles some of the world's most renowned meditation teachers to make mindfulness accessible to even the most hesitant skeptics. Its courses introduce topics from the basics of mindfulness to the science of meditation and everything between. The app offers single mediations of varying lengths. It focuses to meet the individual's meditation goals. Relaxing sleep meditations to ease stressed teachers into sleep are available. A "Talks" feature supplements one's meditation practice with an exploration of deeper issues. Though the app is geared toward an adult audience, meditations such as "One Minute of Mindfulness" and "Proof That You Don't Suck at Meditation" could appeal to more mature high school and higher education students. In response to the pandemic, Ten Percent Happier is now offering free six-month access to the app to teachers and other essential workers.

is the practice of reducing stress in the body by tapping on specific meridian points to send calming messages to the brain. The Tapping Solution's contains free guided tapping meditations geared toward releasing specific stressors. The Tapping Solution features free access to the Tapping Solution Foundation's Teacher Self-Care Collection. It includes a selection of other tapping meditations. A paid subscription unlocks all tapping content, including a School Support Collection for kids. They are also offering a six-month subscription to teachers, healthcare workers, and first responders.

This app is based on the science of psychology and cognitive behavior therapy. The app features a happiness-building regimen of activities and games tailored to the individual's needs and goals. Most features require a paid subscription to access. However, there is plenty of free content in the "Instant Play" section to make this app worth the download. The Serenity Scene, for example, offers a quick burst of nature therapy coupled with a guided meditation that is ideal for sharing with students. Happify has also stepped up to meet the challenges of the coronavirus crisis and released free content for managing pandemic-related stress.

6. Mindfulness for Children

Written and guided by Annaka Harris, a prominent author on mindfulness, this imaginative collection of meditations on her is intended for children ages six to ten but can work with audiences of all ages.

7. Deep Breathing Exercises for Kids

This offers an assortment of breathing exercises that utilize imagery to help students practice effective breathing techniques.

With social distancing and virtual interactions on the rise, kinesthetic learning is going to be more difficult than ever to implement in pandemic-era education. Classroom mindfulness and movement are a great pairing. This provides 40 kid-friendly (and mostly social-distancing-friendly) chair yoga poses that teachers can use with their students to bring movement back into their lessons.

9. Go Noodle

No list would be complete without . Go Noodle is already wildly popular among preschool and elementary teachers. It abounds with high-energy activities that build community, support social-emotional learning, and inspire mindfulness. The free promises to transform kids' screen time into meaningful, movement-based entertainment.

Students and teachers alike have already suffered immeasurable at the hands of the coronavirus pandemic. This will carry over into and be exacerbated by the uncertainties of the upcoming school year. While no one can guarantee a safe or "normal" return to school, teachers can help ensure a more peaceful transition back to learning by using invaluable resources to foster a shared sense of ease and security in the classroom.

Do you have a favorite website or app that you use to take a quick classroom mindfulness or movement break? Let us know in the comments!

ALSO CHECK OUT:

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9 Great Apps and Websites for Movement and Mindfulness in the Classroom

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The 2020-21 school year is bound to be one of the most stressful that students and teachers have ever had to endure. Distancing, masks, and increased sanitation will serve as constant reminders of the invisible enemy threatening their routines, their safety, and their lives.

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Counselor Chelsey | Simple School Counseling Ideas

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Guided Meditation Scripts For Kids - Counselor Chelsey | Simple School Counseling Ideas

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Use these 30 guided meditation scripts for kids to help your students feel calm, focused and ready to learn. The scripts will help kids use mindfulness strategies such as deep breathing, grounding, reflection and guided imagery. Use them to bring mindfulness into your school or classroom today.

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Children can learn mindfulness from us and from books. Which is why I've made this big list of the best mindfulness picture books for kids, many of which include helpful mantras and meditations.

Mindfulness is an important life strategy proven to reduce stress and develop positivity. It's being aware of all that the present moment is - our feelings, the sensations in our bodies, the sounds, sights, smells of the world around us, and so on.

The Big List of Mindfulness Books for Kids

Here and Now by Julia Denos, illustrated by E.B. Goodale
I love this book so much! Readers learn about being present in your body as well as being aware of the world around you. It's a guided meditation in a picture book! " The book is in your lap, or in your hands, or in someone else's." It continues with you noticing your bottom, and your feet on the floor. Then it moves to an awareness of the world... " Right here, right now, while you are reading this book, many, many things are happening: Rain is forming in the belly of a cloud. An ant has finished its home on the other side of the planet. " Gorgeous artwork. Important concepts.

Breathe with Me by Mariam Gates
I love how Gates makes breathing accessible to children with powerful imagery. For example, when you're sleepy in the morning and can't wake up - try doing Rainbow Breath. Illustrated with a girl sitting under a rainbow we read about Rainbow Breath:
"Sit up and let your spine grow tall.
Bring your arms out straight to
the sides, palms down.
Inhale and sweep your arms up over your head palm to palm.
Exhale and bring your arms back
straight out to the sides, palms down.

Repeat three times. "

Or when you're nervous about something new, try Dandelion Breath. (I LOVE the idea of blowing a dandelion, don't you?) The book has five different ways to think about your breathing in total. And I think they're all so brilliantly relatable for kids.

Now by Antoinette Portis
This little girl knows how to live in the moment. " This is my favorite hole (this one) // because it's the one I'm digging." She appreciates the now. " That is my favorite cloud // because it's the one I am watching." We can learn a lot from her gratitude for the present moment. " This is my favorite now // because it's the one I am having // with you."

Puppy Mind by Andrew Jorda Nance, illustrated by Jim Durk
Zen monks call it a monkey mind but I think kids can really understand puppy mind better. (This also explains the ADHD "squirrel" brain.) Like a puppy who is always wandering off, our brains can do that, too. To keep our brains focused on the present, we can breathe. Lovely illustrations throughout this simple book that gives kids a powerful metaphor.

What Does It Mean to Be Present? by Rana DiOrio, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Practical examples with real children show you what being present in the moment looks and feels like. Very well done and relatable for kids.

Mindful Kids: 50 Activities for Calm, Focus and Peace by Whitney Stewart and Mina Braun
Beautiful illustrations with diversity (!!) give kids 50 games, visualizations, and exercises to promote mindfulness in 5 categories: feeling grounded, finding calm, improving focus, practicing loving kindness, and relaxing. Easy step by step instructions make these accessible for kids and adults. I can't wait to try these with my kids.

I Can Handle It by Laure Wright
I love this book so much and use the mantras for ME all the time. It's so great to have this positive affirmation going through my head and my kids heads. Things get hard. But I can handle it.

Breathe and Be: A Book of Mindfulness Poems by Kate Coombs, illustrated by Anna Emilia Laitinen
A picture book to help us be mindful of the present moments! These little poems are great to read one at a time and discuss the meaning with your kids. I've taken photos of the pages to send to friends who need a little encouragement.

Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown
Learn about breathing deeply with motions and visuals starting with A for Alligator Breath. "Open your arms wide like alligator jaws on the in-breath. Snap them shut on the out-breath." It continues with every letter of the alphabet like the Butterfly Breath, Cake Breath, Flower Breath, Ninja Breath, and Yawning Breath. We like to do one per day. Read, practice, and assimilate. Discuss which breaths you like the best.

Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee Maclean
The Peaceful Piggy Meditation book includes lovely activities and prompts for meditation - for kids and pigs. 🙂

Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children by Thich Nhat Hahn, illustrated by Wietske Vriezen, edited by Chan Chau Nghiem
A teacher friend spent time at Thich Nhat Hahn's Plum Village teaching mindfulness to the children of visitors. This book is based on the practices used at Plum Village and provides specific activities and dialogue to encourage mindfulness practice.

Meditation is an Open Sky: Mindfulness for Kids by Whitney Stewart, illustrated by Sally Rippin
I wish my kids liked this book but we haven't found a meditation they connect with as of yet. It is written speaking directly to the kids, not meant for a parent to read aloud to them. Each of the meditations have a purpose such as focus, security, wisdom, and relaxation.

Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and their parents) by Eline Snel
I've just listen to some of the content on the CD that accompanies this book and think it's something I'll buy and try with my kids. See for yourself here.

MindUP Curriculum
First, the kids learn about their brains . . . how the sensory input starts at their amygdala, the fight, flight, or freeze response, and then, if all goes well, how the information travels to the prefrontal cortex where the rational brain makes a decision on that input. Then, the curriculum continues on with mindful awareness practices such as sharping each sense, learning to take different perspectives, and being mindful in the world around us. The activities in each lesson not only always explain the brain science, but they provide ideas to engage, explore, and reflect on the learning goal. I'm very impressed with this curriculum!

Mindful Games Activity Cards: 55 Fun Ways to Share Mindfulness with Kids and Teens by Susan Kaiser Greenland and Annaka Harris
I'm looking forward to trying these games to practice attention, balance, and compassion as well as breathing!

Also read: Yoga for Kids: Practice, Books, Videos & Games , Teaching Mindfulness to Kids
You Might Also Like:
Ways to Help Kids with Anxiety

Positive Affirmations for Kids

Teaching Mindfulness to Kids

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The Big List of Mindfulness Books for Kids | Imagination Soup

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Children can learn mindfulness from us and from books. Which is why I've made this big list of the best mindfulness picture books for kids, many of which include helpful mantras and meditations. Mindfulness is an important life strategy proven to reduce stress and develop positivity.

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Mindfulness, a buzzword we hear everywhere. The term, first coined by Buddhist scholar T.W. Rhys Davids, was reintroduced to us as a practice through the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979. Kabat-Zinn is a renowned MIT-educated scientist who created the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Since the inception of MBSR, mindfulness has seeped into the mainstream and is practiced everywhere, from the therapist's office to Fortune 500 companies to the classroom.

Mindfulness in the classroom, when practiced regularly with students, has been shown to improve focus, regulate behavior, reduce tension and stress, and contribute to an overall healthier classroom climate. This post offers suggestions for how to introduce mindfulness to students.

Mindfulness can reduce anxiety at school.
According to the American Psychological Association, anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorders among children and adolescents. About 32 percent of adolescents in the United States have a diagnosable anxiety disorder. According to Mindful Schools, a California-based program that trains educators to bring mindfulness into school communities, mindfulness is one of the most essential skills necessary to navigate life: "Scholarly research finds that mindfulness practice decreases stress and anxiety, increases attention, improves interpersonal relationships, strengthens compassion, and confers a host of other benefits."

It is important for educators and all those who work closely with young people to understand the effects stress and anxiety can have on engagement in the classroom and on overall academic success. Mindfulness practices can be quick and easy to implement throughout the school day. The most important factor is consistency, so the practices become a habit and a natural response for coping with difficult emotions.

Consider using mindfulness practices at the beginning of the school day. They can also be helpful during transitions from one activity to another. Following are simple strategies you can use in the classroom.

Introduce students to breathing exercises.
To be in tune with your breath is a foundation of mindful practice. To help younger students understand how breathing can help them feel calm, read the storyBreath by Breath: A Mindfulness Guide to Feeling Calm by Paul Christelis with your class. Pose questions to students such as, "How did breathing exercises help the characters in the story?" Tell students to place their hands on their bellies and feel their bodies move up and down as they breathe. Guide them through a belly breathing practice by having them imagine the up-and-down motion of air coming in and out of a balloon. Do this exercise for two minutes or longer, depending on the age of your students, and check to see if they notice a difference in their focus and energy after performing the exercise.

You can find breathing exercises for older students at TeensHealth.

Practice mindfulness in nature.
If you have time in your day, take students for a mindful walk outside where they can practice tuning in to the sounds, smells, and sights of nature. Enjoy the sounds of the birds, how the breeze feels on the skin, and the different smells you notice as you walk different places. Students can practice being quiet and working hard to pay attention to what is around them.

If you are strapped for time or you live in a climate where getting outside can be difficult, you can bring items from outside into the classroom to use in a mindfulness exercise or have students find an item in the room to use. You could also have them choose an item to bring from home that may have an interesting texture. When using an object from either outside or indoors, have students practice paying close attention to the details of the object they are holding. Tree bark is a great object for this exercise because of its intricacies, which we often don't notice because, well, it's tree bark. Ask students to notice how the object feels in their hands-is it rough, soft, hard, cold? This exercise can be a five-minute "before class" activity or it can be more elaborate, with students passing various objects around the room.

Students of all ages enjoy the practice of mindful eating.
Mindful eating is an essential skill to have, not only to increase the enjoyment of food, but also to prevent overeating or bingeing. Practicing a mindful eating exercise in the classroom can be tricky because of food allergies. Survey your students to check for allergies. For younger students, you may need to check in with parents prior to eating something in the classroom.

For this exercise, I often use Dove chocolate because of its smooth texture, its meltability, and because who doesn't like chocolate. I've also used apples to compare and contrast different textures and flavors. Guide students through the following steps with two pieces of chocolate:

1. Have students open their first piece of chocolate and eat it how they normally would with no direction.

2. For the second piece, have students place the chocolate in their hand and notice how the wrapper feels in their palm.

3. Direct them to slowly unwrap the chocolate (wrapper side down to avoid melting in their hands) and smell it. Tell them to notice any memories they have of eating chocolate or what comes to mind when they smell it. Smell is the sense most closely linked to memory, and they might enjoy sharing stories.

4. Have them take one bite out of the corner and move it around in their mouths, savoring the flavor and feeling the texture of the chocolate change as it melts. Repeat that for three more bites.

5. Poll students about how it made them feel to eat the two different chocolates. Which piece did they enjoy more? Did the first one taste different than the second one?

Mindfulness can also benefit adults who work with young people. It can help alleviate burnout and make the day feel a little less crazy. Consider utilizing these practices in your own life. Check in with yourself before the day starts and before you enter any space that children occupy. Be mindful of your own moods and how your energy and body language may be influencing your instruction. Take time to practice self-care and see how it impacts your days. I'd love to hear how you use mindfulness in your classroom!

Liz Bergren is Free Spirit's education resource specialist. She is a former teacher with 15 years of classroom experience. In addition to being a teacher, she spent five years working for Park Nicollet's Melrose Institute, where she counseled and taught classes to patients who struggled with eating disorders. She has a B.A. in health and secondary education from the University of St. Thomas and an M.Ed. in family education from the University of Minnesota.

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By Liz Bergren Mindfulness, a buzzword we hear everywhere. The term, first coined by Buddhist scholar T.W. Rhys Davids, was reintroduced to us as a practice through the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979. Kabat-Zinn is a renowned MIT-educated scientist who created the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program.

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Understanding Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of learning to be present in the moment. By learning to focus on the moment, kids and young adults are actually practicing self-regulation skills. This helps learners check in with how they are feeling, what they are thinking, and what they need. Mindfulness can be practiced through a variety of breathing techniques, strategies, and activities.

Benefits of Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness with kids and young adults pays off. Here are just some of the benefits your learners can see:

Improves self-regulation skills

Helps manage emotions

Improves self-control

Increases focus and attention

Encourages positive thinking

Develops self-awareness

Teaching coping skills

Promotes self-acceptance and self-love

Creates a sense of calm

Encourages empathy

Improves decision-making skills

Teaching Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a practice that can be taught. What's most important is to continue to practice and add it to your weekly or daily routines. You can practice mindfulness first thing in the morning, after a transition, or at the end of the day before students go home. You can also encourage mindfulness prior to a high-stakes test or stressful situation. It's not only a tool to help relax and soothe the classroom, but it's a coping skill kids and teens need for their lives.
Mindful Activities to Practice
There are many different techniques for practicing mindfulness. Here are a few you can try right away.

Mindful Breathing. One of the most basic strategies to teach and practice is mindful breathing. This is the practice of being intentional as we breathe in and out. One fun breathing exercise to try is "cool off the pizza." Have students imagine there is a hot slice of pizza in front of them. Breathe in to smell the aroma of the pizza. Then, breathe out to cool it off.

For shape breathing, have students trace their fingers around shapes (such as a triangle or square) as they breathe in and out. You can also have a bit of fun with mindful breathing by pretending you are blowing out birthday candles on a cake or imagining you are a fire-breathing dragon! The options are endless. Learn more about other fun mindful breathing exercises you can try.

Mindful Coloring. Grab a set of coloring books, pictures printed from online, or use these free mindful coloring pages. You can spend time coloring together while listening to calming music. Teach students to just color as they breathe in and out. If students make a "mistake" or something in their design doesn't go quite right, tell them to embrace those feelings as they breathe in and out.

Mindful Nature Walk. If going outdoors is an option, take a mindful nature walk. Spend time noticing everything you see, hear, smell, feel, hear, and taste. Make it a more interactive experience with a mindful scavenger hunt.

Mindful Crafts. Crafts can also be a fun tool to teach and practice mindfulness. Rock painting, beading, and origami are just a few examples. Teach students to complete the craft as they practice mindful breathing.

Practice Yoga. Teach mindfulness through yoga postures, such as tree pose and warrior pose. Remind kids and teens to continue practicing mindful breathing as they hold each posture.

Mindful Journaling. Have students take a look around and notice what they see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. Take a few minutes to experience the surroundings and write about it. Use this complete Mindfulness Journal filled with mindful journal prompts for the whole year.

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More Information
If you need more information on mindfulness and how to get started, these blog posts are a great resource for parents and educators. Check them out:

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Understanding Mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of learning to be present in the moment. By learning to focus on the moment, kids and young adults are actually practicing self-regulation skills. This helps learners check in with how they are feeling, what they are thinking, and what they ne