Exploring Mindfullness with Your Child

Exploring mindfulness with your child offers many advantages. Mindfulness can be used to de-stress, improve sleep and increase concentration.

Mindfulness is a relaxation practice, which helps you to concentrate on the present moment. This means paying attention to your senses, your thoughts and your feelings, in order to achieve a calmer presence and improve your wellbeing.

For children mindfulness is particularly helpful for growing emotional resilience and developing important coping skills. If you wish to explore mindfulness with your child, here are some great tips from an independent school in Hampstead…

Slow down

You can practice mindfulness simply by slowing down and observing your surroundings. This could be anywhere; at the shops, at the park or simply at home. Pause and remind your child to tune into their senses. What can they see, hear, smell and feel? – Share your observations with each other and you may be surprised to find that you have both noticed something different.

Breathe

Show your child how to focus on their breathing. Get them to describe the sensation of the air going in and out of their body. Encourage your child to put their hands on their tummy and feel it move up and down with each breath. After practicing this for a little while, ask your child to share their thoughts and feelings. Do they feel more relaxed? Deep breathing is helpful for relaxation, particularly if your child is feeling worried.  Once your child has fallen asleep, us adults can use hypnosis for sleep, aiding a better nights sleep.

Taste

Mindful eating is a really fun activity to practice with your children. Choose a favourite food and then ask your child to take their time and use all of their senses to really savour it. Smell the food together, describe the flavour and observe the texture. Use this exercise to enjoy a special treat together such as chocolate. It can be called your ‘chocolate meditation’!

Sleep

Try a mindfulness technique called the ‘body-scan meditation’ to help your child relax before bed. Ask your child to close their eyes and lay comfortably in bed. They can then begin to observe different areas of their body starting at their feet and working right up to the top of their head. What feelings do they have in each part of their body and how does their body feel against the bed? This technique is particularly helpful if your child has trouble getting off to sleep.

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