Children feel stress and a spectrum of mixed feelings, both positive and negative, like adults. The contrast is that as adults, our minds and bodies have years of experience dealing with emotions and fears, mainly self-regulation, to help us return to a primary center located in the present moment, not a sidetracking past or the future.
As parents and teachers of children of all ages, we must help our children learn to cope with stress and emotions by teaching mindfulness to them. You may say, is childhood so stressful? Well, a certain amount of stress is normal for everybody. It helps us grow and learn and teaches us how to deal with and process various circumstances.
By supporting your child in practicing mindfulness, you can find strategies to help effectively manage complex feelings and help your child feel great, happy, and in control.
Mindful teaching to kids may also help improve the executive functions they develop in early childhood, such as refreshing memory, observing details, managing the effort required to complete a task, and behaving appropriately with others. These are higher-level skills that would be helpful for tasks including planning, reasoning, critical thinking, and interacting properly with others.
How to start teaching your child to be mindful?
Create a calm environment: Choose a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. Turn off electronics and encourage your child to sit or lie down in a comfortable position.
Remember the correct times to practice mindfulness: Don’t schedule a mindfulness program during recess when the kids run or play. Pick a quiet time where you can get resettled the first few times you practice. Eventually, they’ll concentrate on accomplishing it in even the most hectic situations.
Guide them through a body scan with curiosity: Ask them to notice how their bodies feel, from their toes to their heads. Move, stretch, and notice body sensations. Please encourage them to focus on their breath and the sensations they feel in their bodies. Pass along the value of knowing about and enjoying all the physical abilities your body gives you.
Teach your child to value the environment: When you are detained in the checkout line at the grocery store, at a doctor’s appointment, or on route to school, slow down and focus on the five senses, and share what you both experience with one another.
Teach your child how to notice, name, and utilize their breath to calm themselves: Encourage them to appreciate the small things in life. Stop and smell the flowers together, take time to listen to the birds singing, or take a few moments each day to appreciate the people and things you love most.
Make it fun: There are lots of ways to make mindfulness fun for kids. You can try things like yoga, breathing exercises, or even games that help them focus on the present moment.
Mindfulness is about increasing awareness that thoughts are “just thoughts,” understanding how emotions manifest themselves in their body and recognizing when focus has wandered. Remember that the purpose of mindfulness is to decrease stress while increasing positivity. Therefore, avoid using mindfulness as a disciplinary tool.
So let them be. Kids are instinctively more mindful (so it’s more difficult for them to move from point A to point B.). Whenever possible, allow them to have a safe place to explore and play at their pace. Create adequate bedroom time for calm on weekdays, as they’ll be more inclined to follow their natural inclination to remain mindful.
In conclusion, mindfulness is an excellent way for kids to learn how to control their emotions and focus their attention. It can be practiced in many ways, such as through yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises. With regular practice, mindfulness can help kids to feel calmer, focused, and less stressed.