Mindfulness is the big buzz word currently. Even schools are implementing Mindfulness programs for teachers and students. Its benefits are evidence based and mindful awareness exercises help children develop concentration and self-awareness. After some practice, children may find mindfulness practices to be helpful in their daily lives – before doing homework, when they are having difficulty settling down at bedtime, or at other any other time when it would be useful to settle the mind.
Mindfulness is a big word for young kids to understand, but is helpful to practice mindfulness with the youngest of children. Put simply, mindfulness is awareness. It is noticing our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and anything that is around us and happening right now. It is about focusing on the present and keeping your mind off the past or future thoughts which may cause disturbances in the present activity.
The techniques of mindful awareness help children who are under more pressure than ever before learn to protect themselves with well-established methods adapted for their ages. These fun and friendly techniques build kids’ inner and outer awareness and attention, which positively affects their academic performance as well as their social and emotional skills, such as making friends, being compassionate and kind to others, and playing sports, while also providing tools to manage stress and to overcome specific challenges like insomnia, overeating, ADHD, hyper-perfectionism, anxiety, and chronic pain. When children take a few moments before responding to stressful situations, they allow their own healthy inner compasses to click in and guide them to become more thoughtful, resilient, and empathetic.
There is an emerging body of research that indicates mindfulness can help children improve their abilities to pay attention, to calm down when they are upset and to make better decisions. In short, it helps with emotional regulation and cognitive focus, which can be very effective when working with children on anger management and behavior modification. With children we have fun and keep it simple, but find big results.
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