(Collaborative post) Mindfulness is the state of being aware and connected to the present moment. It’s a technique taught in CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety when we’re overwhelmed by thoughts related to the past or future. These are feelings that your child might be struggling with at school, especially in the lead up to a stressful event like an exam which practicing mindfulness can reduce.
I have teamed up with an independent girls school in Hertfordshire to share how you can explore mindfulness with your child.
Exploring Mindfulness with Your Child
Mindful Breathing
An easy mindfulness exercise that you can practice with your child is mindful breathing. It involves paying close attention to the breath to mute all other thoughts whirring through the mind.
Begin by instructing your child to close their eyes and to breathe in to a count of three. This should also be held for 3 seconds and released to a count of three. This process should be repeated and while it is, get your child to notice that around them. Start with sound. Ask them about what they can hear. This doesn’t need to be shared out loud but acknowledged. Gradually work your way through all five senses while continuing the breathing exercise. Once completed, your child should slowly bring their focus back to the room. To finish the exercise, get your child to reflect on how they feel. This should be a feeling of serenity and reduced anxiety.
Mindful Walking
You can also pay close attention to the five senses while walking. Many people go for walks as a way of clearing their mind by getting fresh air combined with mindfulness it can be even more powerful. It can help to walk in areas that are quieter such as a local park or a green area where you will not encounter too many people or distractions. Mindful walking can help us become more aware of the sensations in our body and help us focus on the moment. This is something that we can then adapt to help us appreciate every moment.
Body Scanning
This method is particularly good to do before bed with children that have trouble getting to sleep. Using the same instructions as needed for mindful breathing, breathe to a count of three. The only thing that you will need to do differently is to focus on different parts of the body at a time as opposed to the five senses. After a few rounds of breathing, get your child to imagine a beam of light hovering over them. Over the top of their head to begin with and slowly down to the rest of their body, all while getting them to notice how it feels. It’s a great way to help them relax and fall asleep.
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Mindful Eating
This is something kids quite enjoy doing. Mindful eating is where we focus on every mouthful that we eat. Let your child choose their favourite food and get them to tell you what it tastes like. Is it crunchy, soft, chewy? Make sure distractions such as the tv and ipads are turned off so they can fully immerse themselves in the exercise. Tell them to take their time chewing each mouthful and savouring the flavour. Get them to think about how it feels in their mouth. This way they will also chew their food well and digest it better. It will also mean they can better identify when they are full and not overeat.
The Benefits of Mindfulness for Children
There are numerous benefits to practising mindfulness with children. They will be able to focus on tasks far better. This will also result in a better attention to detail, self control and also may result in increased classroom participation. As a result, they will do better at school.
Their mental health will also benefit. Children and also adults that practise mindfulness regularly are less prone to feeling stressed, anxious, depressed and their behaviour will also improve.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my post, Exploring Mindfulness with Your Child.
Do you practise mindfullness?
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I have always told my kids to take deep breaths when they are upset. It helps!
Controlled breathing can be very useful.
As someone who practises mindfulness as much as possible, I love the idea of making this such an accessible thing from an early age. That’s really, really important!
I agree. It can positively influence children’s lives.
I love this! I really love the idea of normalising the benefits from a young age.
It can have a big impact on our children.
I have trouble falling asleep. So I will have to try the body scanning.
I hope it helps you Tara x
Before I was retired as a school principal, one of the calming activities I would do with distraught children was body scamming. When they learned to pay attention to what was going on in their bodies, they would lose focus on what they were mad about.
That’s amazing to hear. It sounds like you did an amazing job. The kids must have loved you.
Important to remember that you are helping them construct the building blocks of their lives and what’s more important than breathing and mindfulness really helps there
That is very true. It is important to set them off on a good positive path.
Yes definitely! I really enjoy reading this post so much! This is so amazing I’m surely going to share this with my friends who had kids!
Thanks so much Richelle. I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed my post. I hope you’re friends like it too.
Such a great post, it is so important to treat our children about mindfulness and the different sides to it as well, most of it we do automatically but always great to have a little refresher
It does help to teach this from a young age.
I think teaching mindfulness to children is a great. A friend of mine was using it to help her with anxiety and she found it very beneficial.
It is great that you get to explore mindfulness with our kids, this is amazing and I should try it.
Erin and I often go for a walk together when we need to clear our heads. We have some lovely quiet places around here to go to.
That must be lovely. That can help relax the mind.
I think this is really wonderful. Anxiety develops at an early age but isn’t always detected until we’re much older and the symptoms are serious. It’s good to learn this calming techniques at an early age to combat that.
This is interesting. I could use this advice with the little grandchild. Thanks for sharing
That is smart to teach the kids to be mindful. And yes, tech definitely has to be OFF to do it
That is smart to teach them mindfulness when they are young. And yes technology definitely has to go off to do it.
I love this! We have to realize and remember the effects we have on them.
These are great tips. I try to talk to our girls all the time. <3
I need to start practising mindfulness with my kid. I didn’t know that it’s so helpful for his developing!
Such a very informative post. I do practice mindfulness and I’m enjoying the benefits.
This seems like a great skill for people to have, starting young is definitely the best way to go!
We can all spend a little more time on mindfulness – it really does make a difference in life!
It certainly does. It’s important for adults and children.
I am loving this post and am for sure sharing with my brother. I have never heard of anythign like this and appreciate your sharing.
Thanks Melissa. I’m sure he will find this helpful to read and do with his little one(s).
We try to practice mindfulness, but these tips are so helpful!
It is great that parents are doing this as it benefits them and their children.
My daughter has a book on child mindfulness and she loves reading it and trying out the different things in it.
That’s so great to hear. I’m sure it really helps her. I might have to look into getting one for my children.
Some fabulous mindfulness tips! Have to agree with walking, it really does help you blow away the cobwebs and put things into perspective… great for mind, body and soul! Sim
Breathing is such a powerful way not only to slow your mind down but to also relief stress and anxiety – illnesses that more and more children and especially teens seem suffer with because of the pandemic.
It really can make a big difference to us. We all need to take more time to be mindful.
I definitely don’t do enough of this myself to be honest, and I need to start doing more, especially mindful eating as I am so bad x
I think many of us adults neglect ourselves. It’s something we need to work into our routine.
Some great tips, I’ve found the body scanning technique in the past has helped my children relax when they have trouble sleeping.
That’s amazing to hear you used it and it’s helped. Many don’t discuss these sorts of techniques but they can be very useful.
We do practice it, yes. Perhaps not as often as we should do though. Will give some of these a go.
We have practised mindful breathing with both of our boys and it’s always worked for us.
It’s great how well it can work.
Mindfullness is something I have practice way before the children were born so they are just use it to it being daily practice in our home ❤️
That’s great, making it part of everyday life for kids can really help.
That’s great, making it part of everyday life for kids can really help.
I think this is really interesting. I’ve tried some aspects of mindfulness with my ADHD son and found it fairly helpful.
It’s great to hear that you have found things that can help.