Teaching Mindfulness to Children

 

Mindfulness gives children the skills to get more in tune with their inner and outer environment, understand and regulate their emotions and gain more control. One of the best ICSE schools in Patiala shares some tips.

The Walk-On-Thin-Ice Exercise

The first step in teaching mindfulness to children is to tell them about the importance of understanding their bodies and their movements and becoming more aware of them. One great way of achieving this is to make them move as if they are walking on thin ice so that they walk more slowly and carefully.

Start the Habit of Journaling

Encourage your children to start a journal about specific activities they perform during their day or you can get them to tell these to you and you can note them down in a journal. The first few times they’ll provide you with vague information but with time they’ll give more detailed recollection of their day as they become more aware. This helps them in paying attention to the present.

Take the Help of Scents

An effective way to develop mindfulness in children in an engaging way is to make use of scent, which helps them become more aware of the present moment. Give them a fragrant flower. Ask them to close their eyes and breathe in its scent deeply. Then ask them more questions about it like what it smells like, what they think of its smell, etc. This way, children become more aware of their sense of smell.

Blindfolded Taste Test

Children often eat in a hurry without paying attention to the taste, texture and smell of the food. Get them to become more mindful of what they eat and get more in touch with their taste buds with the help of the blindfolded taste test. Tie a blindfold around their eyes and give them some food. Ask them what they taste and take a guess at what it is.

Try Some Yoga

Yoga has multiple benefits for the mind, body and spirit for people of all ages. It helps establish and get in tune with your mind-body connection which also enhances mindfulness. Start with simple and easy kid-friendly yoga poses. Practice yoga in the morning along with your kids so that they make it a lifelong habit.

The best ICSE school in Patiala suggests you to have fun while teaching mindfulness to your kids for optimal results.