The biggest benefit of teaching mindful meditation to kids is to boost their brain development.
When we talk about stress, we picture employees working late at night in a dark office struggling to meet deadlines. Almost no attention is paid to our children and the stress and anxiety they face in their day to day life.
Stress in our times begins from a young age. A child has to deal with pressures of homework, tuition classes, and extracurricular activities. They are worried about making it to the school sports team, about social media pressure, and maintaining an interesting online persona. All of this and the added pressure of living up to their parents and relatives’ expectations both academic and otherwise can be quite daunting.
Practicing mindfulness can help kids learn to focus, manage stress, regulate emotions, and develop an optimistic attitude towards life. It also helps them develop compassion for themselves and others. Rather than responding to situations in a knee-jerk fashion, they can take a mindful pause, separate themselves from the situation, and then articulate a response. They learn how to be truly present in the moment with themselves and those around them.
The impact of mindfulness in children is much higher than in adults as their brains and bodies are still developing. It can help boost their powers to focus and aid brain function. Mindfulness can be a powerful tool in helping them perform better in academics and deal with exam pressure.
Mindfulness for smarter studying
When studying mindfulness helps students calm their mind, eliminate distractions, and focus. It does so through breathing exercises that focus all their attention on the present moment. When children face stress, it is much harder for their brains to access executive functions. Executive functions include working memory, perspective taking, decision making, emotional regulation, and problem-solving. Mindfulness helps reduce stress aiding executive functioning. Using mindful breaks and guided sessions they can pause the stress response, take a few deep breaths and shift their reaction from an emotional to a more productive one.
Imagine this scenario your child has a ton of school homework to do for the weekend and a test in the tuition class the next day. Chances are they are freaking out and unable to get any of it done. Mindfulness can help them quiet their mind with a “brain break.” They take a deep breath and do a quick mindful exercise to eliminate the anxiety and simply focus. They can then repeat this each time they transition to a different subject or activity.
The best part about mindfulness is that it can be practiced anywhere. They could even do their mindful exercises while walking back from school or traveling in the metro. You could take even them for a mindful walk. Where amongst nature you can use guided mindfulness exercises to calm and center their minds.
Mindfulness for dealing with emotions
Another important part of growing up for any child is learning how to deal with emotions. The feeling of sadness at losing a competition, or a breakup. The anger at not being allowed to go out and party or having to follow rules. The jealousy they might feel of another’s wealth or good looks. These are all a part and parcel of growing up. Mindfulness teaches them how to regulate their emotions and deal with their moods positively and productively. Including how to cope healthily without suppressing or ruminating over negative emotions.
Kids today live in the internet age. They are under constant pressure to maintain a certain body image and type, whether it’s to fit in or to appear “cool”. This pressure can lead to low self-esteem and self-acceptance. Mindfulness has been shown to not only improve physical health but also promote a positive body image. It gives them a shot at being happier and more compassionate towards themselves.
How to introduce your child to mindfulness
As a parent how do you begin to introduce your child to mindfulness? While there are several online resources including videos, articles, and apps, none of these can measure the actual relaxation or mindfulness your child feels. In short, how do you know it’s working?
Enter Dhyana! Dhyana offers a guided scientific mindful meditation experience for you and your children. The best part is with the Dyana ring you can precisely measure their relaxation and mindfulness levels and minutes. The Dhyana ring uses an accurate heart rate variability sensor that monitors their Autonomous Nervous System.
It breaks down these measurements into Breathing, Relaxation, and Focus levels and provides you with a tangible score for each of them. So now you know that at the end of the session your child has truly improved their focus and relaxation levels. It also offers a variety of customized mindfulness meditation sessions which are short, simple to follow, and based on scientific research.
As a parent when our children get stressed, we get stressed even more. It’s time to break this unhealthy cycle. Mindfulness as a daily practice can help reduce the normal baseline stress level for the entire family. It helps you and your child cope with any inadvertent stressors life may throw your way. It can help your children experience the best years of their childhood in a stress-free and emotionally stable way. It might just be the best gift you give them as a parent.