Teach Children Mindfulness With These Everyday Items
Mindfulness can be as powerful for children as it is for adults — it helps them regulate their emotions and respond more calmly to stressful situations. But just advise your children to “clear their thoughts!” or “be present!” will probably only confuse them (and thus highlight them even more ).
We’ve written about how a soft toy breathing buddy allows children to pay attention to their breathing. Other objects can be useful in their practice – things that they can see, feel, and even taste. I love these mindfulness exercises from Susan Keizer Greenland, author of The Mindful Child and founder of Inner Kids . They require simple items that you may already have in your home.
Objects:
Snow globe or shiny water ball
Inthis video, Greenland demonstrates what she calls the Clear Vision game. You can start by telling your child that we are all born with a clear and calm perspective, like water in a shiny ball. “If I put the ball in front of me, I can still see you,” she says. “Can you see me?” Do you see where this is going?
Then ask your child to shake the ball to show that stress is clouding our perspective. And when this happens, we cannot see or understand each other. Therefore, it is important to feel your breathing and rest. When we do this, as Greenland explains, all the things that have darkened our perspective “sink to the bottom.” Mindful awareness does not rid us of the bad things in our lives, but it helps us to see clearly again.
Ice Cube
Ah, the challenge “hold the ice cube in your hand.” Who knew this pain game could be used to teach children about mindfulness? The Inner Kids teachershows you how to lead this activity. Before the ice cube hits your child’s hand, ask him how his body is (perhaps tense and nervous?). Then, while the cube is in his hand, see if he can stay calm, even if it hurts a little. This shows that we can separate our reactions from our physical sensations. After that, you can ask your child what he did to stay calm. Take a deep breath? Close your eyes? Think about something else? These same tools can be applied to any situation.
Apple
It’s more metaphorical, but really beautiful. Greenland demonstrates with an apple that although our past is a part of us, we should not be distracted by it. Likewise, we should not worry about what will happen in the future. Instead, we can just enjoy the moment.
Kiss Hershey
You can teach children to eat in slow motion to enjoy and appreciate the food. (My child eats very slowly, but this is because he is distracted, not because he is savoring something.) Let your child notice how their food looks, feels, and smells. Let them notice what it looks like when they chew and swallow it. In their Mindful Games activity cards, Greenland and Annaka Harris write that Hershey’s Kiss is great food to use as a special treat. “Children can try holding it in their mouth until the chocolate has completely melted, paying attention to all five senses: seeing the kiss, hearing the foil peel off, and tasting, smelling and feeling the chocolate in their mouth.”