Exploring Mindfulness With Your Child

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It can be easy to lose sight of living in the moment in this modern age, especially when everything often seems to move so fast. But it can be so important to take a minute to yourself and reflect, for both you and your children. That is why, with the help of a Private Sixth Form in Hertfordshire, we felt it worthwhile to offer some advice on how you can explore the practice of mindfulness with your children. 

Mindfulness is the act of focusing on the moment, helping you to reflect on what is good in life and keep a level of perspective about the world around you, and your place in it. There are plenty of things you can do as a family to make mindfulness a common practice in your home and so I have shared a few ways you can do this below. 

Mindfulness practices will be a bit different for a child than an adult. It can be a difficult concept to express to a child, so the idea would be to make the idea as straightforward as possible. Talking about it as a way of recognising feelings is probably the easiest way to explain it to a child. 

A way to make the idea of mindfulness more tangible to your child is to focus on activities that incorporate things they understand as being natural to them. Breathing exercises, and activities that focus on use of their senses is a great way to explore mindfulness as being something that is a part of naturally being. 

Getting your children to talk about their feelings is a very effective means of getting them to this place where they feel more aware of themselves and their position in life. Encouraging them to express themselves when dealing with both positive and negative emotions is important for helping them make sure that they’re paying attention to their feelings, which is something they will hopefully take forward with them as they grow up. This can be really helpful for many every day situations children (and adults) can face too.

Spending time together as a family, and as a family who talk about what is going on around them, is a way to explore mindfulness. Making sure to appreciate what it is you all learn from your experiences, as well as appreciating all that is good in life, is what mindfulness boils down to. Enjoying each other’s company and making the time to be with one another, away from the distractions of screens and technology, is the easiest way to explore mindfulness. Being appreciative of the time you have together is important, so make sure you make time for you and your children to simply be with one another.

Do you and your family practice mindfulness or do you think it is something you would consider trying?

xXx **This is a collaborative post.**