How to Teach Mindfulness to Kids
Everyone can benefit from mindfulness, but kids are especially sensitive to its positive influence because their brains are still under construction. The prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for regulating emotions, impulse control, focusing attention, and more, isn’t fully developed until the age of 25 — which is why kids can have big feelings, especially during the toddler years. Mindfulness is a great tool for bringing kids to the present moment, releasing stress in a healthy way, promoting patience, and helping them to stay calm. But here’s the tricky part: how do you go about teaching it to kids? We asked three of our Alo Moves instructors, who also happen to be parents, their advice for teaching mindfulness to kids. Here’s what they had to say:
Practice What You Preach
“Meditation with our children. I am often asked how we can get our kids to meditate, and while there are some fun games and exercises we can offer them, inviting them into the authenticity of our own practice feels like such an honest approach.
Plus, self-regulation is contagious. If our children are having a moment of dysregulation (which happens often for a young brain with an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex), a parent who has practiced familiarizing themselves with their own emotions and ability to regulate can both model for the child what this looks like and also show up in a way that can tend to the sensitivity and needs of the child. Win-win.
Keep it really low key and no pressure. Let go of any expectations you have about whether they do it or not, and stay engaged with your own practice. Children learn so much by watching what you do and how you respond, so if you have a regular practice, it might spark their own curiosity about it. Storybooks that include meditation are a great way for them to learn through characters and images. Books about the qualities that we cultivate in meditation are also wonderful; qualities like patience, gratitude, generosity, etc.”
Keep It Fun
“Teaching our kids mindfulness and how to express their emotions without being controlled by them is one of the best gifts we can give them. Children have big feelings, and frustrations can quickly turn into outbursts and tantrums. Alo Gives meditations are a great way to introduce your kids to mindfulness.
A tool I use with my daughter Koa is breathing together. She even asks to ‘take a deep breath’ when she’s feeling overwhelmed. Don’t put pressure on yourself or your little one to complete a full meditation. Keep it fun and lead by example. When they see you meditating, they will naturally be interested. When they experience calming themselves with these tools, they will feel proud.”
Stay Flexible in Your Approach
“I think meditating with our kids is important, but having two kids of my own, I’ve realized that it’s so important to introduce the flexibility of it to them rather than the strict rules. Turn mindfulness into fun moments of relaxation together, whether it’s watching the moon or a candle flame or even imagining relaxing, or the special moments in our lives, or things that make us happy. I use meditation for my daughter, who’s a teenager, as a way to help her prepare for tests or for her tennis tournaments. I use it with my son to help him deal with anger, but not in the moment — after the angry moments, when he can actually understand what I’m saying.”
Tools For Teaching
Mindfulness to Kids
Did you know Alo Yoga offers mindfulness videos for kids? In conjunction with Scholastic, they’ve created a program called Alo Gives designed to teach kids the basics of mindfulness in a fun and engaging way. There are videos for all kinds of scenarios: for settling down after lunch or play, for practicing empathy and positivity, for calming nerves, and more. There are also downloadable worksheets to pair with the videos or to be completed on their own that promote thoughtfulness and creativity.
Parents need mindfulness, too. Check out the library of Alo Moves yoga, fitness, and mindfulness video with a free 14-day trial.