Mindfulness is a key technique in building a child’s inner strength, resilience and ability to overcome problems with ease. Although not usually something that parents would look to pursue, mindfulness has been proven to improve mental health, allow adults and children to understand their breathing and understand gratefulness. In this post, we discuss the concept of exploring mindfulness with your child and how mindfulness can benefit your child’s mental health. The growing need for mindfulness in kids is a result of the fast-paced lifestyles and technological advancements that have been sweeping the world.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.
3 Ways To Explore Mindfulness With Your Child
To be mindful, you and your child should work together on strategies that will help you both. We take a look at some of the ways you can explore mindfulness with the help of this independent school in Bucks.
Mindfulness is a way of paying attention to the present moment, and it is a technique that students can apply to their studies, giving them a break from what stresses them out. This article talks about three different ways of practising mindfulness in school: breathing and meditation, being aware of their surroundings, and mindful eating.
Practice mindful eating
A good way of introducing mindfulness inadvertently is practising to eat slowly with your child. Have them chew their food properly and take in the flavours, smells and feelings about the food they’re eating. Ask them how they find the food when they’re eating it – whether they’re enjoying it or not – and get them into the habit of knowing what’s in their food as well.
Understand your breath, and teach your child to do the same
A lot of mindfulness techniques rely on your focus on breathing and not focus on anything else. It tends to align your thought process, and whatever stresses you face can be pushed away as you focus on your breath.
For children, practice their breathing by counting to 3 as they breathe in and count to 3 again when they breathe out. As they do this, they may get distracted or think about something else as they breathe, so tell them to bring it back to the breath and push away these thoughts.
Try practicing meditation with your child
Meditation is an important practice that is being embraced by many different groups of people for various reasons. Research has shown that meditation can positively affect children’s brains, making them better at managing their emotions and stress levels.
Meditating with your child can be an excellent way to bond, teach them about relaxation, and help them develop healthy coping mechanisms. Find out more at the bottom of this post.
Ask them to be more aware of their surroundings
A lot of a child’s understanding of the world will come from studying the space around them and taking in all they see. Ask them what interests them and how they feel when they come into contact with the senses. The great outdoors alone is an excellent way of unwinding and being at one with your thoughts.
It is common knowledge that increased exposure to digital media and technology, in general, has made it harder for people to pay attention to their surroundings. But there is a much more sinister side effect: increased exposure can lead to less awareness and understanding of physical danger. In the future, these trends may have a negative impact on children’s safety as they grow up in an increasingly digital world.
The Benefits of Mindfulness For Children
I recently had the opportunity to discuss the benefits of mindfulness for children with the inspirational and one of the loveliest ladies, Lena Henderson of The Mindful Steps. You can read more about that interview by clicking the image below. Since that interview, Lena has also launched her meditation for children album, Charming Forest, which is simply amazing.
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