Teaching child meditation

How to Teach Meditation to Children

There are plenty of benefits to teaching children how to meditate. They’ll learn balance, find their inner peace, build self-confidence, self-control, respect their classmates and friends, develop empathy, and focus better during classes. Some schools have begun to teach meditation to children for the benefits it offers. If you’re wondering how to teach meditation to children, we gathered useful information that can help you to initiate your kid in yoga in a fun and relaxing way.

When you can start meditation with children

You can start a meditation program for your child from the age of 3 years old. For preschool children, it’s best to start a few minutes a day. For grade school children, you can practice 3-10 minutes twice a day, and for teens, you can meditate for 5-45 minutes per day, depending on their focus and interest.

You have to start with easy exercises that will make the learning process easy and fun; we’ll discuss more different types of meditation that are suitable for every age category, later in this article.

It’s essential to be patient during this teaching process of meditation and find the right way to keep your child still. Experts state that, with the right approach, you can successfully make your energetic child stay quiet and practice meditation correctly. With continued practice and exercise, your child will learn to be more mindful and be connected with their feelings and thoughts. Let’s see how to teach meditation to children and find out exciting methods that you can apply.

Free meditation appDeclutter The Mind is an app that will teach you how to meditate, help you form the habit of a regular practice, and expand your mind to the teachings of mindfulness.

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How to teach meditation to children

Here’s 3 simple practices you can try and implement. Feel free to adjust each practice as you see fit. Make them work for you, be creative, and remember to have fun! If you need something simpler, consider starting with a mindfulness activity for kids.

1. Teach your child how to focus on their breath

When you’re learning how to teach meditation to children, the most critical initial step is to teach your child to focus on slowing down the breath. Breath is essential in meditation, and by showing your child the tools of a deep breath, you will allow him or her to create space in their mind for calm.

To start, you can teach him or her deep breathing during your regular bedtime routine to help him or her relax before sleep. You can follow these steps for this breathing exercise that will show you how to teach meditation to children:

• Take a deep breath through the nose, and on the exhale, say aloud “three.”
• Take another deep breath through the nose, and when you exhale, say “two.”
• With the final breath, say “one” and repeat the exercise.

Perform this exercise together and relax after the three breaths then repeat it if you desire. It’s necessary to pay attention to your child and don’t force him or her to do it if they don’t feel comfortable. Be patient and help them learn the benefits of meditation. Start slowly and, in time, try to repeat this exercise up to four more times. This exercise is best for younger kids, starting with the age of 3 years old.

If it helps, use their favorite toy or cartoon hero to guide this breathing exercise. You can put on a funny voice or even a costume if it helps get your child excited about the process. Be creative!

Another great exercise that you can try with kids age 5 or more, to help them focus on their breath, is called “the elevator”:

• The practice asks for you and your child to imagine an elevator going down three floors.
• First, imagine the elevator is inside your body.
• The top floor is from your head to your chest. The next level is from your chest to your stomach. The last floor from your stomach to your seat.
• For the first breath, you will imagine the elevator going down from the head, and during the exhale process will get to your chest. When it reaches your chest, say “three.”
• Pause for an inhale.
• Repeat the process for the next exhale, and imagine the elevator going down to the next floor until it reaches your stomach. Say, “two.”
• Pause for inhaling.
• Then exhale while imagining the elevator going down to the last floor, where it will reach your seat area. Say “one.”
• Relax.

To make the practice more enjoyable and exciting for your child, you can make fun elevator sound effects as you both imagine the elevator going down or up. Add details to the elevator. Ask your child what the elevator looks like. What it sounds like. What it feels like. 

2. Use imagination in the meditation exercises

The key to making your child engaged in meditation is to teach him how to have fun with it. Children love stories and visualizations, so you must include those in the meditation exercise for good results. Experts think that this is one of the best approaches when you’re first learning how to teach meditation to children.

You can read him or her a favorite story before the meditation exercise and then add the main character in practice. You can even choose a children’s book on the topic, such as The Peaceful Piggy Meditation, and read it to them at night. Afterward, sit up and pretend you are meditating like the little piggies from the story.

You can also imagine some fun elements they love. For example, you can try the balloon exercise:

• Ask your child to imagine a giant balloon in his or her favorite color.
• Afterward, ask them to imagine they take a deep inhale through the nose, filling their tummy with air as if trying to blow up the balloon.
• When the balloon is fully inflated with air, they will hold their breath at the top, and then you can pop up the balloon by putting your finger to their tummy, and he or she can fall as he exhales.
• This is an entertaining exercise that kids will love practicing. You can apply it for kids ages 3-5 years old.

For kids age 5 or more, you can include real-life persons in the meditation practice. Let’s take an example of how to teach meditation to children:

• Find a person that they look up at as a leader. It can be his or her grandma, best friend, or their big brother. You can let them choose the person he or she wants to imagine. Let’s use the best friend as an example.
• Ask him or her to imagine that their breaths and minds are best friends, too.
• His or her mind will be them, the follower, and their breath will be the leader as their best friend.
• Sit down together and close your eyes.
• Bring all the attention to the breath and slow it down.
• Take deep inhales and slow exhales.
• The mind must follow the breath.
• Now have them picture themself as the breath, following their best friend, the mind.
• Count the breaths at the end of every exhale. The mind will want to jump ahead and count before the end of the exhale, but don’t let it. Remain focused on being the follower.
• Count to ten slowly at the end of each exhale, allowing the mind to follow the breath.

This is a terrific exercise that will teach self-control and focus on the breath. It is an excellent example of how to teach meditation to children.

3. Incorporate nature elements in the meditation exercises

Another great type of meditation to try is to use nature in meditation exercises to make them easier to understand and practice. Let’s see an example:

• You can compare their feelings with the weather forecast.
• Sit both comfortable in a quiet place.
• Close the eyes and ask them to think about how they feel.
• You can ask several helpful questions, such as: How is the weather inside you? You feel relaxed like a sunny day? Or you feel like it’s raining? What do you observe?

After your child tells you how they feel, advise them to accept their feelings and not try to change them. Explain to them that later their internal weather forecast will be OK, but for the moment, they must accept this state. Emotions change frequently, and negative thoughts will go away.

This exercise will help them understand their current mood, accept it, and trust that it will get better.

You can also train his or her attention by including natural elements, making it more engaging. Let’s see another example of how to teach meditation to children:

• You can ask them, on the morning route to kindergarten or school, to notice and remember five things from nature. It can be a tree, an impressive flower, or a bird in the sky.
• Tell them to remember the distinctive characteristics of these things, such as the color, form, stripes.
• Ask them questions about the elements they chose and details about them.
• This exercise will help them to discover how to experiment with reality without interference and pay more attention to their environment.
• Attention is an integral part of meditation. Most people, even children, can get caught up in their thinking and feelings. This practice asks them to simply pay more attention during their usual routines.

Be patient with the learning meditation process

It’s challenging for a parent to keep their child still during meditation, but with patience, and finding the right methods for your child, you will manage to engage them in this activity.

If you’re interested in how to teach meditation to children, you’ll find many kinds of meditation to start with, but you should test and see which ones work best for your child and teaching style. You can check the methods we presented you above and craft them according to your kid’s favorite things, story characters, and interests.

It’s essential not to set a definite goal when you start meditation with your child. Enjoy the process, observe them, and try to make it as fun as it can be, helping him or her to enjoy the process. This is also something that benefits you and your relationship with your child. It’s where you can begin to learn a lot about them and further strengthen your bond with them.

It’s also important to pay attention to him or her and find ways to attract your child to meditation. For example, if they seem to be restless and have difficulties sitting down, you can choose their favorite cushion and let them stand on it. This choice will make the environment friendly and encourage them to stay comfortably.

Meditation brings several benefits both for the child and the parent. See these exercises as valuable experiences for both of you and enjoy this time spent together. Perform the meditation exercises together and, as you teach him, follow the instructions and try to relax as well. Make it a daily habit, an opportunity for both of you to unwind and relax after a long day. It can be challenging at first, but with exercise and practice, both of you will learn to calm down and control the mind and breathe, enjoying pleasant moments together.

7 Tips to Teach Children Mindfulness & Meditation

And here's the thing: Even if kids don't fully understand the "what" and "why" of mindfulness, it's very important they start learning the "how." Research shows that mindfulness education in schools has proven benefits: it increases optimism and happiness in classrooms, decreases bullying and aggression, increases compassion and empathy for others and helps students resolve conflicts.

Feel free to try these at home!

1.

The Bell Listening Exercise

Ring a bell and ask the kids to listen closely to the vibration of the ringing sound. Tell them to remain silent and raise their hands when they no longer hear the sound of the bell. Then tell them to remain silent for one minute and pay close attention to the other sounds they hear once the ringing has stopped. After, go around in a circle and ask the kids to tell you every sound they noticed during that minute.

This exercise is not only fun and gets the kids excited about sharing their experiences with others, but really helps them connect to the present moment and the sensitivity of their perceptions.

2.

Breathing Buddies

Hand out a stuffed animal to each child (or another small object). If room allows, have the children lie down on the floor and place the stuffed animals on their bellies. Tell them to breathe in silence for one minute and notice how their Breathing Buddy moves up and down, and any other sensations that they notice.

Tell them to imagine that the thoughts that come into their minds turn into bubbles and float away. The presence of the Breathing Buddy makes the meditation a little friendlier, and allows the kids to see how a playful activity doesn't necessarily have to be rowdy.

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3.

The Squish & Relax Meditation

While the kids are lying down with their eyes closed, have them squish and squeeze every muscle in their bodies as tightly as they can. Tell them to squish their toes and feet, tighten the muscles in their legs all the way up to their hips, suck in their bellies, squeeze their hands into fists and raise their shoulders up to their heads.

Have them hold themselves in their squished up positions for a few seconds, and then fully release and relax. This is a great, fun activity for "loosening up" the body and mind, and is a totally accessible way to get the kids to understand the art of "being present. "

4.

Smell & Tell

Pass something fragrant out to each child, such as a piece of fresh orange peel, a sprig of lavender or a jasmine flower. Ask them to close their eyes and breathe in the scent, focusing all of their attention only on the smell of that object. Scent can really be a powerful tool for anxiety-relief (among other things!).

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5.

The Art Of Touch

Give each child an object to touch, such as a ball, a feather, a soft toy, a stone, etc. Ask them to close their eyes and describe what the object feels like to a partner. Then have the partners trade places. Both this exercise and the previous one are simple, but compelling, ways to teach the kids the practice of isolating their senses from one another, and tuning into distinct experiences.

6.

The Heartbeat Exercise

Have the kids jump up and down in place for one minute. Then have them sit back down and place their hands on their hearts. Tell them to close their eyes and feel their heartbeats, their breath, and see what else they notice about their bodies.

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7.

Heart-To-Heart

In this exercise, the meaning of "heart" is less literal. In other words, this activity could also simply be called "Let's talk about feelings." So sit down and casually, comfortably ask the children to tell you about their feelings. What feelings do they feel? How do they know they are feeling those feelings? Where do they feel them in their bodies? Ask them which feelings they like the best.

Then ask them what they can do to feel better when they aren’t feeling the feelings they like best. Remind them that they can always practice turning their thoughts into bubbles if they are upset, they can do the Squish and Relax Meditation if they need to calm down, and they can take a few minutes to listen to their breath or feel their heartbeats if they want to relax.

The takeaway.

My hope for the mindfulness class was to give the kids some tools they can use anytime: tools to calm down, slow down and feel better when they are troubled. I sure wish I had these tools at my disposal when I was their age. Imagine if all the children around the Earth learned to use these tools during their childhoods. What a change our world would experience within just one generation!

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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. nine0003

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.

1. Balloon

This is a simple deep breathing exercise with a strong visual component. Performed sitting or standing.

Exercise

1. Relax and inhale and exhale deeply through your nose. nine0022
2. 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.
3. Slowly release the air from the balloon, exhaling through the nose.

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 option with your participation is suitable.

Exercise

1. Close your eyes and imagine your favorite color and then a huge ball of that color in your mind.
2. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, blowing up 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.
3. When the balloon is full of air, hold your breath.
4. Now I will burst your balloon (press your finger to the child's stomach), and you exhale sharply and fall to the floor. nine0022

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.

Exercise

1. Sit back and close your eyes.
2. Concentrate on your breathing and try to breathe more slowly, taking deep breaths and slow exhalations.
3. Let your thoughts follow your breath. Imagine that you are a thought, and your breath is your big brother.
4. 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.
5. Before exhaling, slowly count to ten. nine0022

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

1. 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. nine0022
2. Take a few deep breaths in and out.
3. 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.
4. Sharply relax your foot and feel how the tension dissolves. You may feel a slight tingling in your muscles.
5. Shift your attention to the left foot (the “tension-relaxation” cycle is repeated).
6. Move slowly 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. nine0022

Text: Xenia Diakova-Tinoku Photo source: Getty Images

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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.

One of the best ways to do this is 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. nine0003

Review: Meditation for Children

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. nine0003

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. nine0109