Kids Meditation and Mindfulness

Kids meditation and mindfulness can be a simple thing to practice at home. Doing so can have numerous positive affects on young children! Planting the seeds of mindfulness early on can develop a strong foundation and help children in many aspects of life.

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Through Moms Meet, we always get introduced to some amazing products for healthier living as a family. This time they introduced us to Zafooz. They are adorable stuffed animals / yoga cushions to help children engage in brief daily mindfulness practice. Their hope is that teaching this early on will help children develop the social and emotional skills to live a well-balanced life.

The first thing the kids wanted to do with their Zafooz is squeeze them and climb all over them. They are so squishy and cute! They have the Mindful Monkey and Lotus Ladybug.

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Our Kids Meditation with Zafooz

I attempted to explain that Zafooz are also a cushion for meditation. Both kids have done breathing exercises in school and we used to do kids yoga when they were younger. However, meditation and mindfulness is not something we’ve really tried before.

On the Zafooz website they have scripts for kids meditation, breathing practice, and mindfulness. They’re short and easy to follow.

It’s also important to note that this is not something to push children into. We want to encourage them to give things a try, but not create an aversion to it by making it a punishment.

This is the problem I had with my daughter when we tried our first script. She was more interested in making a joke out of falling off her ladybug. She has shown me breathing exercises from school before, so I knew this just wasn’t going to be her day. Another note is that just holding the Zafooz while sitting on the floor is another perfectly fine option.

Little Guy, however, was very excited to give it a try. He found comfortable spot on his monkey and listened to all the prompts. By the end, he looked calm and relaxed. Even Little Lady seemed to have settled down a bit.

I love the idea of giving them a coping strategy early on. Creating a situation and a prompt to help them calm themselves is so important. With regular kids meditation and mindfulness practice, they will have the tools to pull out whenever needed.

Having an item like Zafooz also gives them a bit of a prompt and reminder to use what they’ve learned.

Also read: The Importance of Behavior Specific Praise

Benefits to kids meditation and mindfulness

Ability to decrease distractions

There are so many distractions for kids these day! It’s difficult for children to really practice mindfulness and be present and fully engaged in what they are doing.

Our son has a lot of difficulty with focusing on tasks. As he’s now entering third grade, we want to get this under control as quickly as possible. Therefore, any strategies we can teach him now will only help in the future.

Ability to deal with big emotions

Kids don’t cry, yell, or tantrum because they’re bad kids. They do so because they don’t know how to deal with some big emotions they are bombarded with. As parents and loved ones, it’s our job to teach them ways to deal with the emotions that are bound to pop up.

The more language and coping / calming strategies we can teach them early on, the less likely they are to act out in different ways. Also, if you have a child who is the opposite and holds everything in, this practice will help them to deal with those emotions instead of retreating.

Kids meditation and mindfulness provides them with a way to escape anxiety or worry and tune into their body in the moment.

Helping them live in the moment

Isn’t this something we all need? How many times do you hear people say they want to be more in the moment?

Kids are like little sponges. With all the screen time, structured school environments, and distractions these days they are missing out on valuable play and learning opportunities. Teaching mindfulness and helping our kids live in the moment can make the opportunities for play and learning even greater at a time when they are most influential.

Increase Patience

One of the most difficult things for kiddos to learn is self-control. Without the right tools to make the wait bearable, it can be hard not to give in to impulses. Kids meditation and mindfulness can help develop these skills.

According to the Zafooz website,

Mindfulness has been proven to promote positive traits in parts of the brain controlled by the prefrontal cortex. Such as, focus and cognitive control, which has a positive impact on developing the skills of self regulation, reasoning and attention while decreasing anxiety.

Fall Asleep Faster

Practicing mediation and mindfulness before bed can help children relax and fall asleep. Taking a moment before bed to calm themselves and release the stress or excitement of the day will definitely help.

Our 8-year-old has trouble falling asleep at night. He can’t turn off all the thoughts running through his head and always comes out to tell me about something. Practicing kids meditation and mindfulness before bed is a way to help him tune into his body and tune out the distractions.

Also read: How to keep kids from waking up too early

In this busy world full of distractions, mindfulness practice is good for everyone! In fact, I have learned so much about it recently that I’m going to start using it for my own biggest struggle – eating.

As parents and loved ones, our most important job is to help our kids because amazing human beings. Anything we can do to give them the right tools early on is a must.

It’s especially helpful for kids to build these mindfulness skills early. Children’s brains are still developing. Building this strong foundation can give them a step up in so many areas of development. Kids meditation and mindfulness practice will help children throughout the rest of their lives.

Also Read: Why We Should Never Ask Our Kids Questions