There are plenty of benefits to teaching children how to meditate. They’ll learn balance, find their inner peace, build self-confidence, self-control, respect their classmates and friends, develop empathy, and focus better during classes. Some schools have begun to teach meditation to children for the benefits it offers. If you’re wondering how to teach meditation to children, we gathered useful information that can help you to initiate your kid in yoga in a fun and relaxing way.
You can start a meditation program for your child from the age of 3 years old. For preschool children, it’s best to start a few minutes a day. For grade school children, you can practice 3-10 minutes twice a day, and for teens, you can meditate for 5-45 minutes per day, depending on their focus and interest.
You have to start with easy exercises that will make the learning process easy and fun; we’ll discuss more different types of meditation that are suitable for every age category, later in this article.
It’s essential to be patient during this teaching process of meditation and find the right way to keep your child still. Experts state that, with the right approach, you can successfully make your energetic child stay quiet and practice meditation correctly. With continued practice and exercise, your child will learn to be more mindful and be connected with their feelings and thoughts. Let’s see how to teach meditation to children and find out exciting methods that you can apply.
Here’s 3 simple practices you can try and implement. Feel free to adjust each practice as you see fit. Make them work for you, be creative, and remember to have fun! If you need something simpler, consider starting with a mindfulness activity for kids.
When you’re learning how to teach meditation to children, the most critical initial step is to teach your child to focus on slowing down the breath. Breath is essential in meditation, and by showing your child the tools of a deep breath, you will allow him or her to create space in their mind for calm.
To start, you can teach him or her deep breathing during your regular bedtime routine to help him or her relax before sleep. You can follow these steps for this breathing exercise that will show you how to teach meditation to children:
Perform this exercise together and relax after the three breaths then repeat it if you desire. It’s necessary to pay attention to your child and don’t force him or her to do it if they don’t feel comfortable. Be patient and help them learn the benefits of meditation. Start slowly and, in time, try to repeat this exercise up to four more times. This exercise is best for younger kids, starting with the age of 3 years old.
If it helps, use their favorite toy or cartoon hero to guide this breathing exercise. You can put on a funny voice or even a costume if it helps get your child excited about the process. Be creative!
Another great exercise that you can try with kids age 5 or more, to help them focus on their breath, is called “the elevator”:
To make the practice more enjoyable and exciting for your child, you can make fun elevator sound effects as you both imagine the elevator going down or up. Add details to the elevator. Ask your child what the elevator looks like. What it sounds like. What it feels like.
The key to making your child engaged in meditation is to teach him how to have fun with it. Children love stories and visualizations, so you must include those in the meditation exercise for good results. Experts think that this is one of the best approaches when you’re first learning how to teach meditation to children.
You can read him or her a favorite story before the meditation exercise and then add the main character in practice. You can even choose a children’s book on the topic, such as The Peaceful Piggy Meditation, and read it to them at night. Afterward, sit up and pretend you are meditating like the little piggies from the story.
You can also imagine some fun elements they love. For example, you can try the balloon exercise:
For kids age 5 or more, you can include real-life persons in the meditation practice. Let’s take an example of how to teach meditation to children:
This is a terrific exercise that will teach self-control and focus on the breath. It is an excellent example of how to teach meditation to children.
Another great type of meditation to try is to use nature in meditation exercises to make them easier to understand and practice. Let’s see an example:
After your child tells you how they feel, advise them to accept their feelings and not try to change them. Explain to them that later their internal weather forecast will be OK, but for the moment, they must accept this state. Emotions change frequently, and negative thoughts will go away.
This exercise will help them understand their current mood, accept it, and trust that it will get better.
You can also train his or her attention by including natural elements, making it more engaging. Let’s see another example of how to teach meditation to children:
It’s challenging for a parent to keep their child still during meditation, but with patience, and finding the right methods for your child, you will manage to engage them in this activity.
If you’re interested in how to teach meditation to children, you’ll find many kinds of meditation to start with, but you should test and see which ones work best for your child and teaching style. You can check the methods we presented you above and craft them according to your kid’s favorite things, story characters, and interests.
It’s essential not to set a definite goal when you start meditation with your child. Enjoy the process, observe them, and try to make it as fun as it can be, helping him or her to enjoy the process. This is also something that benefits you and your relationship with your child. It’s where you can begin to learn a lot about them and further strengthen your bond with them.
It’s also important to pay attention to him or her and find ways to attract your child to meditation. For example, if they seem to be restless and have difficulties sitting down, you can choose their favorite cushion and let them stand on it. This choice will make the environment friendly and encourage them to stay comfortably.
Meditation brings several benefits both for the child and the parent. See these exercises as valuable experiences for both of you and enjoy this time spent together. Perform the meditation exercises together and, as you teach him, follow the instructions and try to relax as well. Make it a daily habit, an opportunity for both of you to unwind and relax after a long day. It can be challenging at first, but with exercise and practice, both of you will learn to calm down and control the mind and breathe, enjoying pleasant moments together.
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