Teaching mindfulness exercises to kids with emotional and behavioral challenges is not easy. That’s why we gathered some useful tips and tools.
Often, children in general are never taught to be mindful or present in the moment. Even adults struggle with this skill. Children who are identified as having emotional and behavioral challenges may find mindfulness especially hard. One of the biggest roadblocks for these children can be staying present in the moment and being mindful of their bodies and emotions. It can be hard to teach a child, whose brain is still developing, to be mindful.
However, in my classroom for children with emotional and behavioral challenges, I have used 3 mindfulness exercises for kids that I have found helpful.
Mindful Breathing
In my experience, this was the easiest mindfulness exercise to teach. Before any transition the students know to take 5 deep and slow mindful breaths. They focus on each breath and the feelings in their bodies and thoughts in their minds as they go in and out. Many students place their hands on their stomachs or chests in order to promote a tactile sensation.
Mrs. Mindfulness suggests having children say “in” and “out” as they breathe, or alternately having the adult say these words as the children breathe. This might help those little ones who become easily distracted.
Mind Jar
Mind jars can be calming and are easy to make. One of the more simple mind jars is made of a water bottle with water and glitter inside. You could use a snow globe for an alternative. When a child needs a break or is becoming worked up they can shake the mind jar and watch the glitter settle to the bottom. A mind jar will usually take about five minutes to settle.
The children are instructed to let their feelings and thoughts settle as the glitter settles. Their feelings and thoughts might be settled at the end of those five minutes or they might not. If they are not settled at least they have become mindful, which is the first step to dealing with them in a healthy way.
Yoga
Yoga is so often used for adults to become mindful, so why not children? I have personally seen yoga help a class of emotionally charged and angry children settle into calmer, more open minds ready to be molded. Yoga may give children with emotional and behavioral challenges a sense of peacefulness, even if only for a moment; a school psychologist who teaches yoga to such students describes this in the linked article. It also promotes self-awareness of the body, which can easily be related to self-awareness of feelings and thoughts.
Mindfulness can be a difficult skill to practice and even harder to teach. These 3 exercises could give you a start in sharing this skill with your child. For children with significant trauma, go gently and consider the support of a qualified professional. For more on mindfulness, contact us.
Find more exercises related to mindfulness with relationships and family here.
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