Becoming a Butterfly

How to Promote Mindfulness in Children

There are numerous ways we can introduce the concept of mindfulness to our children. For young children, this free Mindfulness Meditations for Kids course can serve as an introduction to mindfulness practice, offering beautiful imagery and simple practices that young kids can follow and relate to.

The meditations in this course can be returned to again and again, being incorporated into regular practice. For adolescents, beginner mindfulness practices might be more suitable than kids practices, offering simple, straight-forward exercises that explore breath work, body scanning, self-compassion meditations, and a range of other topics.

Offline, some additional ways we can enhance mindfulness in children include:

1. Mindful Nature Walk

Taking children into the earth’s most natural playground – the great outdoors – is a great place to introduce them to the concept of mindfulness. Invite them to explore the world through all of their senses (aside from taste, of course, unless it’s safe to do so) and then through their emotional and intuitive bodies.

What does the air smell like? What colours do they notice? Where is there movement and where is there stillness? How do they feel inside? What energies do they notice – happy ones, playful ones, quiet ones? The opportunity for mindful exploration here is endless.

2. Gratitude Practice

Introducing children to gratitude practice is incredibly beneficial for enhancing their awareness of the blessings in their life. In a world that is now highly connected through social media, comparison to what others have has been made far too easy.

Engaging children in this type of practice can be as simple has having them name one thing about their day that went really well as you tuck them into bed; or, you can consider helping them to write a gratitude list, encouraging them to open their awareness to all the blessings within and around them – big and small, tangible and intangible.

3. Mindful Minute

Taking a mindful minute when a child’s emotions are rising high can help your child to better understand and express how they are feeling.

Tell them that you are really interested in learning more about what they are experiencing, encouraging them to tune mindfully into their body, heart, and mind for one minute before sharing their feelings. 

This will help them to better communicate, and it will help you to listen more patiently and compassionately. Take that mindful minute yourself as well, tuning into your own experience of and reaction to their emotions.