Expert / 3 June, 2019 / My Baba

Teach Your Children Mindfulness with These 5 Top Tips

Bring consciousness into their life

Teach them to take responsibility for their decisions from as early an age as possible. Start by giving them three options of outcomes when they would like to do something. Keep it simple: “if you do that, this, this and that can happen. Now that you know what could happen, whether you do it or not, it’s your decision, but you’re also responsible for the outcome, so cannot be blaming anyone if you’re not happy with the outcome.” This way, they will learn not to take anything for granted, they will experience self-compassion and will also build the confidence they will benefit so much from for the rest of their lives. Takes patience from your part, but is so worth it!

Colouring books

Colouring books! This amazing activity will not only relax them, but will also teach them about patience, creativity and boundaries. Try a mandala colouring book and let their artistic spirit evolve.

Body appreciation exercise

Help them understand how amazing their body is and how much they should appreciate its wonders. For a week, for example, or choose random days, show them how much impact lacking a function would have on their daily lives. One day blindfold them and let them experience sight impairment. Another day, they should communicate without speaking one word, another day tie one of their hands to their body, and so on and so forth. Play this “game” for at least 2-3 hours, or more, depending on their age, and let them fully understand the importance of each function/ability and not take their body for granted. It’s a great exercise to help them respect others who are not as fortunate as to benefit fully from all of their abilities.

Gratitude

Have a gratitude exercise in the evening, before going to bed. It’s like a prayer, but in which they’ll learn to express what they’re feeling grateful for, instead of asking for something. This will teach children to be more connected with themselves, to pay attention, to reflect, to easily express how they’re feeling and to appreciate what’s happening in their lives.

Mindful eating

Try to teach your children to enjoy food in a mindful way. You could explain to them how much love and effort you put in preparing their meal, how all the ingredients came together and this way they’ll pay more attention to the taste of the food. Teach them to never rush when having a meal and to appreciate what’s in their plate, by telling them how every single ingredient is helping them develop into strong, healthy adults. Even better, include them in the meal preparation and ask them to describe 3 things they observe about each ingredient, for example.

Article by mindfulness coach, Mihaela Berciu.