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Meditation for Children

Published: 19 Nov 2021 Tagged: anxietyawarenessbreathingchildrenemotional intelligencemeditationmindfulnessrelaxationsleepSpeakableworking memoryyoga
Meditation for Children

According to some recent studies, a strikingly majority of the population will suffer from anxiety at least in a moment of their lies which includes childhood. The recent pandemics has emotionally affected everyone in different manners, demanding from every person some initiatives to cope with their mental health. One of these initiatives is the meditation.

Though usually thought to be an activity only for adults, meditation is actually a possible activity for children, providing the following known benefits:

  • Ability to focus and study.
  • Better breathing habits.
  • Better sleep.
  • Development of emotional intelligence skills such as active listening, empathy, humility and resilience.
  • Improved self-esteem.
  • Improved metacognition, the awareness of their own learning and thinking processes.
  • Improved working memory capacity.
  • Reduced anxiety.
  • Reduced levels of stress and increased feelings of calmness, relaxation and self-acceptance.

However, children need some adaptations on their meditation activities in order to keep them engaged, especially when they are too young. Four activities are very effective with children:

  • Guided meditations: Some meditation guide can use available apps to keep the children following instructions – we recommend Insight Timer, Mindful Kids, Smiling Mind, Stop, Breathe & Think, and Headspace for Kids. If you prefer, you can create your own meditation script with your kids.
  • Meditation stories: This technique guides children’s minds and imagination through a relaxing and insightful journey with positive affirmations. The story will relax children and encourage them to learn how to self-regulate behaviours, also broadening their sensory experiences. Among popular meditation stories, we can mention:
    • Blowing out birthday candles while focusing on breathing.
    • Following the journey of a leaf as it travels along a river.
    • Imagining a butterfly flitting through a field of flowers.
    • Visiting the beach to lie on the sand in the sand to make sand angels.
  • Meditation music: Online relaxation sounds can be very useful and easily found in iTunes, Spotify or YouTube. They can simulate sounds such as falling rain, rainforest sounds with birds and water streams, or waves crashing on the shore. Sometimes, the use of a xylophone can be engaging, or even letting them select which sound texture could be used instead of the famous ‘Ohm’.
  • Sleep meditations: In a similar fashion of guided meditation or meditation music, the aim is to relax children in such a way they can have a calm sleep. Breathing, focusing on the sensory experience of relaxing each body part, clearing the mind, all of these activities are part of sleep meditation.

Speakable is owned and led Binh Doan, a talented speech pathologist and yoga instructor, perfectly able to provide speech and language therapies as well as meditation sessions. Contact us to know how we can help you with our services!

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