Editorial Team
By: Lynda Fairly
It’s no secret that children have a lot of energy and are constantly buzzing. Learning to turn off the extra need to help ease stress and anxiety is one way to help them grow, know better, understand themselves better, and open their minds in new ways. Mindful Activities for children can include meditation for kids, teaching children how to be present in their moment-to-moment experience with greater awareness and appreciation. You can do many things as a family; these are just some resources on mindfulness meditation for kids.
By introducing little ones to mindful activities for children, you can help ease the stress in your family. The art of being present is one that adults have to relearn as well. When mindful activities for children are introduced at a young age, they will be more apt to understand them. It can be challenging to teach this practice to children who are still learning how to pay attention and control their impulses, especially when they are so used to moving from one activity to another when they feel restless. In this blog, let’s find out what are mindful activities for children.
Mindfulness is a practice that teaches children to become more aware of the thoughts (both positive and negative) that are going through their minds. They can learn how to notice their emotions, especially if they are trying to suppress them. By being mindfully aware of their moment-to-moment experience, children will begin to understand themselves better. If you are a working mom looking for ways to be mindful with your children, here are some ideas on introducing mindful activities for children into your life.
Also read: How working moms or families bring mindfulness to children
Play
Playing is an essential part of childhood. It allows children to relax and have fun. By incorporating mindfulness into play, you allow yourself as a parent to honestly play with your children mindfully. You will be able to experience the joy of being present in the moment and enjoying each other’s company for hours on end.
One easy way to do this is by playing a game with little or no competition involved, such as hide-and-seek or tag. When playing these games, the children will concentrate on not being discovered or tagged instead of feeling the need to win. When they are focused on this, they can become calmer and focused, which is the goal of mindfulness.
Another game suggested by Lynda Fairly, Co-founder of NumLooker is, you can play with your children is a game of pretending. There is no need for the competition here either. Just allow your child’s imagination to run wild as you play with them in the imaginary world that they have created. When playing pretends, children can use their imagination and jump into different scenarios while enjoying the fictional world they have created.
Meditation for Kids
Many parents think that meditation is an excellent way to help children stop the mind from racing. As with any other practice you do, this can be a challenge at first. It seems like it will take forever for your child to calm down if they are struggling with anxiety or stress. Meditation for kids can be something that is done formally or informally. If you are looking to incorporate formal meditation for kids into your week, here is one way of doing it.
Sit together in a quiet area with your child. If they need to move around, then walk around very slowly while holding their hand gently and talking about nature and the day’s beauty. Bring yourself to the present moment by taking in all of the sounds around you and noticing any smells that may be present. If there is a lot of traffic going by or kids running around, then it may be a good idea to go inside your home and meditate for kids in the comfort of your own home. Once you have settled down with your child and are ready to begin, close your eyes and take slow deep breaths.
Concentrate on the rhythm of your breathing while noticing any other thoughts that may come into your mind. Try just to let them go and come back to concentrating on breathing. Once you feel like you have been meditating for kids for a few minutes, either start a new round or continue to sit with your child. A working mom would require this to make their kids productive.
Mantras
Mantras are a way of helping children to concentrate on their breathing. For this activity, all you need is your child and yourself. Pick out a mantra that you can say together like “I am calm,” “I am strong,” or “I am happy.” If your child is younger, then it may be helpful to have their favourite stuffed animal with them. Pick out a time when you will sit together and meditate for kids.
Caroline Lee from CocoSign added, “it can be any time of day, but it is best to do this activity at the same time each day when possible if you are looking to include it in your daily routine.”
Having your child practice their mantra with you is a great way to build on the ability they have already built up in the past. They will begin to notice how their minds work and begin to understand it more thoroughly as they become more acquainted with themselves. Pick a mantra and work on it for a week or two until your child has it memorized before moving on to the next. If they need help remembering the mantra, you can continue to say it to keep working on it and learning how to concentrate better.
Final thoughts
Mindfulness activities for kids will make your children more mindful. Mindfulness is learned, much like motor skills are learned when you are learning how to play an instrument or ride a bike.
When children feel the need to move around, they can focus on their breathing. This is one way of introducing meditation for kids to your family. Your children will begin to try new things. Learn more about the mind in a new way that is fun and playful instead of trying to control it around fearful or stressful situations at school or home.