Children of all age groups can get benefits from mindfulness. When you teach about mindfulness & meditation to your kids, you help them build self-esteem & how to manage stress with a skillful approach towards challenges.
It is quite a favorite topic these days. But what does it mean exactly? And how to teach them to kids in an effective way so that they get benefitted from mindfulness? So, if you want your kid to incorporate a meditation practice into daily life but have no idea from where to start, so we are here to help you with this.
Introducing Children To Mindfulness & Meditation
In simple words, mindfulness meditation is a state of attentiveness to whatever happening in the present moment. It is anything whatever you notice like hearing or feeling something etc. There is no such place of calmness which you have to reach. Also, it is not about pressurizing yourself to clear your mind & thoughts. However, it is about allowing your emotions & thoughts to come & go without any judgment. You have to be honest about what you are feeling or what is happening at that particular moment.
In the present era, Children are stressed due to various things. As they grow from adolescence to teenage, life becomes more complicated through multiple ways like the pressure of studies, relationship development, peer pressure, etc. So, they need a way to cope with the present situation without being worried about the past or future.
Therefore, with each development phase of life, mindfulness meditation acts as a tool for promoting happiness, decreasing stress or anxiety & improving concentration. Nowadays, mindfulness meditation is being taught to everyone like a corporate executive, athlete & also to children due to the increase in stress level.
Due to the rise in suicide cases, stress, or anxiety among children, it is crucial to tell them how to deal with the situation calmly. Therefore, meditation helps them in dealing with that particular moment without losing patience.
Before Children, Work On Your Own Mindfulness
Kids will automatically grasp the activities or things their elders are doing in their lives. So, before teaching mindfulness to your kids, you have to do it in your daily life. Either you are the parents or a teacher, you need to work on yourself like taking a mindful walk or start meditation in a peaceful corner of your place.
Why Is Meditation So Important For Children?
Apart from being a stressbuster, Mindfulness meditation has huge benefits. Some of them are listed below:
Reduces behavioral issues & emotional reactivity
Better relationships
Improved resilience
Helps in sleep disorder
Better mental wellbeing
Higher concentration & focus
Better academic performance
Time Length For Mindfulness Meditation
The meditation time length varies from person to person & preferences. But as per pediatricians, the following are the time frames recommended for different age groups.
A few minutes daily for preschool children
3 to 10 minutes twice a day for grade school children
For teenagers & adults, it should be 5 to 45 minutes or more per day as per the individual’s preference.
Difficult For A Kid To Sit Still For Long To Do Meditation
It is next to impossible for a toddler to sit still for a few minutes to do meditation. Therefore, start doing informal mindfulness first & after that, do it in a guided formal & traditional fashion.
By doing informal mindfulness practices, you can get the same kind of improvement you might get from the traditional way of doing it. You can tell your child to focus on the activities he/she is doing like:
Brushing teeth
Eating food
Drawing a picture or doing homework
After that, try to indulge your kid in mindfulness meditation activity before bedtime. Play a bedtime meditation each night with your kid. It will quickly become a routine for kids & increase the chances of quick & sound sleep.
By How Long Can Parents See Changes In Their Child After Starting Mindfulness Meditation?
After only one session, one can notice the benefits of mindfulness meditation. As per some studies, a decrease in stress & reduction in blood pressure is quite evident after one session, but most of the effects are seen after eight weeks of practice. Improvement in focus & calmness is a few benefits that can be seen quickly. As per the research, a person doing regular meditation at least three times a week gets maximum benefits. Consistency is most important to get help from mindfulness meditation.
