Best meditation for kids
8 Guided Meditation Apps for Kids
Many families say meditation and mindfulness help their child focus, cope with stress, and “quiet the mind.” These eight apps can help your child learn to meditate and be mindful. Many of them include guided meditations. You can also check out self-control apps for young kids and for teens and tweens.
Price and availability may vary but were accurate as of March 12, 2020. Understood does not endorse or receive financial compensation for the sale of any of these products.
Mindful Powers
Mindful Powers is a good app for introducing grade-schoolers to mindfulness. It guides kids through a series of meditations, called “stories,” that each build on each other. This is different from many meditation apps, which require kids to pick and choose what to do on their own. Kids work with a “Flibbertigibbet,” a cute round sea creature that helps them stay focused and breathe. The app uses a child’s voice, and it has a youthful look and feel.
Price: Free to try ($4.99 for the full app)
Available for: iOS
Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind offers hundreds of mindfulness activities for all ages. In addition to breathing meditations, the app has sensory exercises, like listening to music. There are programs for kids in different age groups, as well as for schools, workplaces, and sports. The app also keeps track of when kids meditate. Smiling Mind was created by a nonprofit with the mission of improving mental health in Australia. So the app uses voices with Australian accents. Since the app has so many options, your child may need your support to use it.
Price: Free
Available for: Android, iOS
Breathe, Think, Do With Sesame
This free Sesame Street app isn’t specifically for meditation, but it’s great for introducing very young kids to the concept of calming down through breathing. The app teaches kids the “Breathe, Think, Do” method. Kids help an animated monster facing a frustrating situation to calm down by taking long, deep breaths.
Afterwards, they help the monster think of a solution and do it.
Price: Free
Available for: Android, iOS
Headspace
Founded in 2010, Headspace was one of the first meditation apps on the market. It has a sleek, cool look, and it uses fun cartoon videos to teach how meditation works. The app has tons of guided meditations, read by a voice with a British accent. Originally for adults, Headspace now has specific mindfulness activities for kids, with five themes: Calm, Focus, Kindness, Sleep, and Wake Up. Each activity is customized for three different age groups, Under 5, 6–8, and 10–12, and each has a role for parents. Teens can also benefit from the app, which offers reminders to help kids stay on track, and a buddy system so different users can encourage each other.
Price: Free to try ($12.99 per month subscription)
Available for: Android, iOS
Three Good Things: A Happiness Journal
Although not for meditation, this free journaling app can help kids build mindfulness based on a simple premise: If kids write down three good things that happen to them each day, they’ll feel happier.
The app is very easy to use. After kids enter their name, they’re asked to write a few words about something good that happened that day, then a second and third thing. They can use the app to set a reminder to write each day, and they can look over past journal entries.
Price: Free
Available for: iOS
Stop, Breathe & Think
Stop, Breathe & Think is a simple meditation app for kids in middle school and older. It has guided meditations and breathing exercises, as well as written instructions on how to meditate. Kids can share how their mind and body are feeling, and the app suggests a meditation based on that. The app also tracks total meditation time and how “settled” kids report they feel.
Price: Free to try ($9.99 per month subscription)
Available for: Android, iOS
Super Stretch Yoga HD
Super Stretch Yoga HD is for yoga, not meditation, but it can help kids learn the importance of relaxation and breathing. The app teaches kids how to do 12 different yoga poses.
Each pose is introduced with a short animation, a live video with a child doing the pose, and an explanation. Kids can choose to do one of the poses, or they can do all of them in rotation. The app gives gentle encouragement while kids do the yoga poses, and it reminds them to breathe. Super Stretch Yoga HD is best for kids in grade school and Pre-K.
Price: Free
Available for: iOS
The Calm app offers a new meditation every day, along with 7- to 21-day meditation programs like “7 Days of Calming Anxiety” or “7 Days of Focus.” Most of the meditations are guided, but there are options for unguided timed meditations, too. Guided meditations are read aloud by a pleasant, soothing voice. Kids can also listen to sounds like ocean waves or wind. It’s free to try the app’s first program and a few stand-alone guided meditations. There’s a fee to access more. Calm is best for older teens and young adults. Parents may want to try the app too. And if you have a younger child, Calm offers sleep stories to read to kids to help them relax and sleep better.
Price: Free to try ($69.99 per year)
Available for: Android, iOS
5 Best Meditation Videos for Kids
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Meditation and mindfulness are great practices for kids. They can help children adapt to stress, anxiety, and other frustrating situations. But many kids need help focusing and calming their mind. Guided meditations are great to help your kids with their mindfulness practice, however, you can’t quite sit them down with a meditation written for adults and expect success. Fortunately, there are plenty of guide meditation videos for kids available. These videos treat meditation like a story or otherwise design the guided imagery to keep your children engaged. These meditation videos for kids are perfect to help your child relax before bed or nap time or just to teach them the principals of meditation and mindfulness. Check out our recommendations below.
Balloon Guided Meditation for Kids
This 6 minute guide relaxation for kids from Peace Out features the gentle voice of Jamie paired with cheerful illustrations. Jaime is great at taking the principles of mindfulness and guided relaxation and making it accessible for kids. This meditation features a red balloon that takes the kids on a flying trip through a beautiful countryside.
Their meditation videos for kids are perfect for a quick morning or afternoon meditation session.
Breath Meditation for Kids
If your child is an older kid or you’re looking to introduce your son or daughter to more traditional guided meditations, this 5 minute video from the Meditation Channel is great. This meditation focuses on the breath, teaching your child to turn their attention inward and creating good habits for future meditation.
While this video doesn’t feature fancy music, it’s very accessible for children and allows them to really focus on their breath.
Guided Gratitude Meditation for Kid’s
This guided meditation video for kids is a story that focuses on gratitude. This story is less of a traditional meditation, but instead a relaxing story that teaches children about being grateful for what they have or who they are. It does guide your child to breath in and repeat gratitude mantras. At 20 minutes long, this video can be listened to at any time of day, but it’s particularly good for bedtime. Cory’s voice is very relaxing and can help lull your child to sleep.
The Butterfly Meditation for Kids
Here’s another guided meditation great for elementary school aged kids.
Breethe offers a variety of guided meditation videos for all ages and even has an iOS app. This meditation starts out with a focus on the breath and continues with the visualization of a butterfly to guide your child through a body scan meditation. At 7 minutes long, this meditation is great for any time of day.
Forcefield of Protection Guided Meditation for Children
New Horizon makes a ton of meditations specifically for kids. From story meditation to relaxation exercises to help with stress and anxiety, they offer something for every child. This meditation is for the Forcefield of Protection, which is great for nervous or anxious children. In visualizing a protective forcefield of light, it helps give kids confidence to deal with tricky situations that make them nervous.
If you enjoy this guided meditation or prefer to listen to MP3 you can purchase their guided meditations for kids on Amazon or iTunes.
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Looking for more ways to teach your children about meditation? Check out these DIY meditation jars.
Help your children practice mindfulness with yoga by using these yoga DVDs for kids.
Encourage their practice with these yoga and meditation gifts for kids.
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A Parent's Guide to Helping Their Children
Today's youth experience anxiety and stress. Much more than it should. According to recent statistics published by the American Academy of Pediatrics,
Up to 30 percent of children and young adults will experience an anxiety disorder in their lifetime.
Parents and other caregivers should teach our children good stress-reducing habits and introduce them to mindfulness activities that help them grow, support mental health, develop self-control and self-esteem, and reduce anxiety.
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One of the best ways to do this is through meditation. We cover everything you need to know about meditation for kids, including what the practice looks like, how to teach it, and why it works. While teaching mindfulness to children may seem like a daunting task for parents or teachers who want to improve the well-being of their children, once you understand what mindfulness and meditation practice is, everything becomes much easier.
Overview: Meditation for Kids
In some ways it is not surprising that children develop stress disorders early. We live in a sensory world. There are real threats, and the unknown can be scary. Today's children suffer from attention spans and an inability to concentrate while studying, in the classroom, or even at play.
It is tempting to think that you can protect your children from all the fears and stresses throughout their lives; the best answer is to explain how to deal with difficult times. Children's meditation can help them with this.
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Establishing a solid meditation practice at an early age is a good intention for your children and for yourself as parents and educators.
Whether it's deep breathing exercises, guided meditations, sleep stories, yoga, or any other mindfulness-based intervention, there's no doubt that children of all ages will benefit from mindfulness training from an early age.
Diagnosis of anxiety and behavioral disorders in children has increased dramatically. nine0007
Now let's define what meditation is?
For both children and adults, meditation is a practice that can bring great joy and comfort to your life. Although it can be difficult to define meditation in one sentence, in general it can be said that meditation is a mind-body practice that trains mindfulness and focus.
There are many benefits to meditation. For example, it helps to improve concentration, calm frayed nerves, relieve stress, help with self-comfort, and promote happiness.
All these benefits are available to both children and adults. nine0003
Can children meditate?
Yes! Although a child's meditation will not look the same as an adult's meditation, the basic foundations of the practice remain. Children, for example, may benefit from guided imagery. Their duration may be shorter. And, of course, it is very important to choose meditation for the child. Some, for example, do not tolerate sitting meditation for more than a few minutes very well. However, they are fine with meditating while walking outdoors, mental painting, telling sleep stories in a soothing voice, or even listening to audio recordings as guided meditations. nine0003
Mantra meditation can spark curiosity in older children as it requires
extra attention and patience, but can be a great option if your children are willing to dive deeper into
Why is meditation important for children?
Up to 30% of young people develop anxiety disorders.
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- American Academy of Pediatrics
Children are not immune from the stresses of life. In recent years, the number of diagnosed anxiety and behavioral disorders in children has increased dramatically. These include attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder. First, it tells us a few things as our understanding of how conduct disorders manifest in children grows. Second, rates of diagnosis are rising as children are tested and diagnosed with these disorders. In other words, today's children are not necessarily more stressed than children of the past. However, it also tells us that children are more prone to anxiety and stress than we previously thought. As parents, we must be vigilant and help our children cope with stressful situations in life and instill self-care in their lives from an early age. nine0003
Can meditation help children cope with stress?
Yes.
Fortunately, meditation can help calm the symptoms associated with problematic disorders. Children's meditations have the same effects as adults' practice. Even short, simple meditations for beginners can have amazing benefits. A recent study in the Journal of Positive Psychology found that just 15 minutes of meditation has the same positive impact as a full day of vacation. nine0003
Meditations for children
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Guided Meditation for Children: Live or recorded guided meditation during which the instructor gives instructions for the meditation session.
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Sleep Meditation: These meditations are gentler and more soothing. Often, meditations are accompanied by music, they calm the mind and prepare the body for sleep.
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Mindfulness Meditation: Meditation and mindfulness just go together. Mindfulness meditation means awareness (full attention) to the present moment instead of focusing on the past or the future. nine0003
Benefits of meditation for children
Children can learn through meditation:
1.
How to breathe correctly. Many people learn to breathe incorrectly (shallow) in childhood. Meditation can help develop proper breathing skills. Deep breathing helps focus and relax, which teens, children, and even young adults may not be aware of and express in their own way.
2. How to deal with stress and anxiety. nine0055
Meditation helps to re-adjust the mind and calm the hectic thoughts and harsh, stressful emotions.
3. Better focus.
Mindfulness meditation, in particular, can be helpful in improving concentration. This is because staying in the present requires significant attention and awareness.
4. How to calm down and regulate difficult emotions.
Children often experience strong emotions and do not know how to calm down. Meditation helps center the mind and provides a soothing cushion for difficult emotions. If your child loves music, consider downloading a meditation that includes children's music.
The audio recording can be turned on before bedtime or in the morning when the child is getting ready to start their day. nine0003
5. How to sleep better.
If you want to use bedtime meditation for kids, this is a great idea. Children's bedtime meditation can help alleviate some of the problems they face while resting. Many children feel too anxious, scared, or energetic to properly prepare for bed at night. Meditation before bed is a great remedy for a wandering mind.
Teaching children guided meditation is easier than you think
There is no wrong way to teach a child to meditate. But here are some tips:
1. Start small. Even five or ten minutes of meditation is better than no meditation at all. Before the start of the school day, sit in a quiet place (perhaps even in the car when you drive the children to school) and dedicate time to meditation practice.
2. Try family meditation. Meditation can be a wonderful experience for all family members, including children.
This is a great way to bond with your child and build more trust and intimacy. nine0003
If you have never meditated before, ask an instructor for a quick start session.
3. Don't worry about the details. It is natural for someone to giggle, move, or be distracted and restless in body and mind. This practice is primarily aimed at manifesting itself. They may also fall asleep.
Meditation for Children: Frequently Asked Questions
At what age should you start meditating?
You can start mindfulness meditation or short, informal meditation sessions with your children at any time. As a general rule, seated meditations are best for children six years of age and older. nine0003
How do you meditate as a family?
Here is a quick family meditation: Find a quiet place. Sit on the floor and assume a comfortable, mindful posture. Straighten your back and close your eyes slightly. Set a timer for two to five minutes. Focus on taking a deep breath: Inhale.
.. and exhale... Inhale... and exhale... Inhale... and exhale... until the timer runs out. Breathing exercises are the best way to introduce children to meditation - they give them the opportunity to focus and concentrate. nine0003
Does meditation help in studies?
Yes. Meditation has been proven to help children focus better and be less distracted. It helps to improve attention during classes and while studying. Meditation can also improve memory and provide mental and physical support to children as they learn. You can even teach your kids to meditate during their lunch break or before exams and tests at school.
Can babies meditate? nine0055
While you probably won't be able to get your little one to sit up during a full meditation, you can work on focus together. Try focusing on one object (like a ball) for 30 seconds. Look at it with your child and describe everything about it (color, shape, size, texture, smell...). This is a great mindfulness meditation for toddlers.
What tools, applications and other methods can be useful for children?
Meditation is not the only holy grail for helping children deal with the stresses of the world - there are a whole range of ways to become more mindful and relax. Yoga, painting, singing, pottery, and being in nature (such as forest bathing or swimming) are fantastic tools to support child development.
For apps, check out meditation apps like Headspace, which offers a library of mind-guided programs and meditations with fun illustrations that young children might find interesting. nine0003
Resources for Anaachan Meditation
Meditation Vika
Meditation for chakras
Meditation techniques
Meditation of Body scan
Management Meditation for children
Meditation
Up to 30% of young people will suffer from anxiety disorders
Anxiety and depression in children: Find out the facts | CDC
The impact of 15 minutes of meditation compared to one day of vacation
Meditation for children: 3 exercises for each day
Listen to your body For parents
Teaching children meditation techniques increases mindfulness, develops self-control and empathy. Meditation helps with stress, hyperactivity and depression in schoolchildren and improves academic performance in the sciences.
It is generally accepted that meditation requires special adult self-discipline and concentration. In fact, this technique can be used at any age. The main thing is to choose the right exercises. Three ways to get started with kids. nine0003
1. Balloon
This is a simple deep breathing exercise with a strong visual component. Performed sitting or standing.
Exercise
- Relax and inhale and exhale deeply through your nose.
- Take a slow, deep breath and try to fill your belly with air, as if you were trying to inflate a big balloon. Try to inflate your belly as much as you can.
- Slowly release the air from the balloon, exhaling through the nose. nine0080
Remind the child to relax the whole body with each exhalation, each time the air slowly leaves the balloon. At the same time, try to make a quiet “shhhh” so that the exhalation is slow.
Continue for a few minutes.
For restless preschoolers, a more dynamic version with your participation is suitable.
Exercise
- Close your eyes and imagine your favorite color and then a huge ball of that color in your mind.
- Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, inflating a large ball of your favorite color with your belly. Spread your arms out to the sides and above your head, imagining how this ball grows inside the abdomen. nine0080
- When the balloon is full of air, hold your breath.
- Now I will burst your balloon (press your finger to the child's stomach), and you exhale sharply and fall to the floor.
2. Follow the Leader
More suitable for children over five years old. Ask your child to introduce a friend, sibling, or someone they enjoy spending time with. Then ask which of them is the leader and comes up with games. If your child sees himself as a leader, ask him to imagine that he is "breath".
If he prefers to follow the leader, he is a "thought". For example, he chose his older brother as his best friend, and then the older brother is the leader. nine0003
Exercise
- Sit back and close your eyes.
- Focus on your breathing and try to breathe more slowly, taking deep breaths and slow exhalations.
- Let your thoughts follow your breath. Imagine that you are a thought, and your breath is your big brother.
- Count how many seconds your exhalation lasts. Don't let your thoughts run ahead. She will try to do this, but try to make her follow the breath.
- Before exhaling, slowly count to ten. nine0080
3. Universal relaxation technique
This practice is suitable for both children and adults. She solves problems with sleep, a long period of stress or illness, liberates before public speaking. It is based on a progressive muscle relaxation technique developed by psychotherapist Edmund Jacobson in the 1920s for anxious patients.
Exercise
- Get into a comfortable sitting or lying position and close your eyes. You can lie down on a pillow and cover yourself with a blanket. nine0080
- Take a few deep breaths in and out.
- Direct your attention to the right foot. Squeeze it very, very hard, tucking all five fingers inward. Hold it in this position for two deep breaths.
- Sharply relax your foot and feel how the tension dissolves. You may feel a slight tingling in your muscles.
- Shift your attention to the left foot (the “tension-relaxation” cycle is repeated).
- Slowly move along the whole body, continuing to squeeze and unclench the muscles (if this is difficult, you can squeeze or massage them with your hand) and breathe deeply. Here is an approximate sequence: right foot - left foot; right shin - left shin; right knee - left knee; right thigh - left thigh; feet and legs along the entire length; hips; buttocks; stomach; the whole body below the belt; rib cage; right hand - left hand; right palm - left palm; shoulders; neck; face.
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