Mindfulness For Kids: Activities And Benefits

Many parents look for ways to improve their children's mental health and well-being. One method of doing so is through teaching mindfulness, a research-backed habit that kids can use in childhood and as they grow older. Having a child-friendly mindfulness activity on hand can be beneficial as you work with your children on understanding their emotions, thoughts, and bodies.

What is mindfulness?

Many individuals live on autopilot, not stopping to think about bodily sensations. Regret about the past or worry about the future can disrupt the present. Mindfulness helps all humans be more aware. 

Mindfulness enhances awareness by helping individuals look at the world around them nonjudgmentally. Studies have found that doing so can reduce anxiety, depression, and stress in many. 

Mindfulness started as a Buddhist tradition and practice but has become more prevalent in the West as a secular form of meditation. Many studies have found mindfulness effective for improving mental well-being and happiness. Others have found that it can grow the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for cognitive functions like memory.

How mindfulness benefits children 

If you want to improve your child's well-being, introducing a mindfulness exercise can be a fun way to do so. Below are a few reasons why you might teach mindfulness and how it might benefit your family. 

Lessons in empathy 

Adults may benefit from learning to become more empathetic. However, children can also benefit, as they're still learning about emotions. Teaching empathy to young people may support their social and emotional growth in the future. Mindfulness teaches empathy by letting children feel the world around them, label and understand emotions, and be more aware of other people's emotions.

Fewer distractions 

Children are often distractable and have short attention spans, and with handheld technology, more kids face more distractions than in the past. To help your child navigate distractions, you can teach them how to practice mindfulness. This practice may keep them focused by teaching them slower breathing, focusing on the moment, and letting go of unwanted thoughts. Fewer distractions may mean the child can complete their schoolwork and chores or enjoy life more.

Sleep improvements 

Children can need up to 12 hours of sleep per night, depending on their age group. Sleep is valuable to help the mind grow and encourage health. Those with problems sleeping may benefit from mindfulness. Mindfulness practice teaches children the value of sleep and may help them fall asleep faster. Specific mindfulness exercises can help them relax at night while they lay in bed.  

Lessons in empathy 

A child's life can be stressful, and many children experience anxiety. Striving for high grades in school, wanting to be as good as their siblings, worrying about what will happen tomorrow, and feeling inadequate are all stressors a child may face. Some stress can be beneficial and motivation. However, too much stress in a child can cause adverse health impacts. 

Mindfulness improves emotional control and lets children let go of what they can't change and learn to discard unwanted thoughts, which can help them to manage stress. Instead of worrying, a child can use mindfulness to focus entirely on what is around them to stay calm. This exercise can improve their performance and overall mental health.

An appreciation of the world around them 

A child may not realize to stop and appreciate the world around them. Mindfulness can prompt a child to observe and question the world. Walking barefoot, they can feel each blade of grass and the mud between their toes. When they explore outdoors, they can feel the wind blowing in their hair, focusing on being part of a bigger picture. With many children using electronics, teaching children to interact with nature can also remove them from the online world. 

Improved health and awareness 

Mindfulness can give your child a head start in healthy coping. As you age, your physical and mental health can decline. Mindfulness keeps the brain curious and young. Ideal mental health can promote physical health, too. If you teach your child to be mindful, you're setting them up to be able to choose to be mindful when they go through challenges. 

Fun mindfulness activities for children

One way to teach a child mindfulness is to disguise it as fun. A child may not like it if you make them do breathing exercises to control their breath daily without an explanation. Turning mindfulness into a game or activity can help them learn to mimic you and feel like they're spending time with you. 

Sensory guessing games 

One way to increase your child's senses is to play a guessing game with them. For example, if you want your child to work on their sense of touch, put a few different textured objects in a box and make it so your child can touch them but not see them. Have your child describe the texture in detail. If you put toy slime in there, let your child feel the slime going between their fingers, then ask them to guess what it is. You can also have them label their sensations as they play the game.  

Nature walk guessing games

One way to be more mindful is to walk in nature. Walking in the woods can be framed as a walking meditation, or simply a nature walk where you can observe all the sights and sounds. Watch the blades of grass as they sway. Hear the different bird calls. Point out these experiences to your child and label them so they can start to learn more about their environment. 

If you want to increase the fun of the game, you can turn it into a guessing game. For example, you can find a natural object in a specific color and have your child guess which object you're thinking of. You can also have a scavenger hunt outdoors, prompting your child to hunt for particular objects that require mindfulness to find.

Play more music

Any music may help a child be more mindful. As your child is listening to their favorite song, encourage mindful listening. Let your child notice how the singer's pitch changes. Observe how the different musical instruments interact and the background music you may not have noticed. This activity is beneficial for children and may be valuable for people of any age.

Play with pinwheels

The pinwheel can teach a child a lot about mindfulness. Try having them observe how the wind subtly affects the pinwheel, how the speed can change with just the slightest touch, and how it slows down and speeds up again. By sitting down and playing with a pinwheel, you can have fun with your little one while encouraging mindfulness. 

A trip to the beach

A trip to the beach can be the ultimate excuse for teaching your child mindfulness. Let your child feel the sand between their toes as they run around. Teach them how to be mindful when making a sandcastle. Show them how to swim, be mindful of the water hitting their body, and feel the temperature differences. You can also get ice cream and mindfully eat it together, savoring the taste of the ice cream before swallowing it. Many activities can be done mindfully, allowing children to slow down, see appreciation in everyday activities, and learn about their environment. 

Meditation

Mindfulness and meditation go together and can become part of your child’s daily routine, allowing them to move past what happened yesterday and focus on the present. Although teaching meditation may seem like a stretch for young people, developing a meditation practice for a few minutes a day at an early age may build self-control and self-esteem while building mindfulness skills. 

Guided meditations are particularly effective for young people because they allow them to focus on their five senses and guide them rather than having them focus on their own. Paying attention during a guided meditation may help kids feel relaxed and in touch with their bodies.

Yoga

Like meditation, yoga may seem challenging to teach to young kids. However, by introducing a few yoga poses as you introduce mindfulness, you can reinforce the mind-body connection and develop routines that even young children can master. In order for your children to practice yoga, it is important to select poses that are fun and achievable. It may be best to sign them up for a children’s yoga class if you are not well versed in yoga. 

Counseling options for parents 

Even with the strategies outlined above, teaching your child about mindfulness can be difficult if you haven't mastered it yourself. A mental health professional like a counselor or therapist can help you learn how to practice mindfulness. However, raising children can be a time-consuming process. Parents may not have the time to schedule therapy sessions for themselves. Online counseling can be more convenient for integrating mindfulness practices into your schedule. Seeing a counselor from home conveniently is possible with online therapy platforms like BetterHelp. 

For decades, evidence has been mounting to support online mindfulness interventions. A recent meta-analysis showed that this type of therapeutic treatment is effective in alleviating depression and anxiety as well as increasing overall mental health. The study showed that internet-based mindfulness practice could benefit many populations. When you sign up for online therapy, you can choose between phone, video, or live chat sessions and express your interest in learning mindfulness to your therapist.