Meditation For Kids by Clare Reid

Star Love Photography for Lightweavers

As my daughter lay still with her hand on her belly, breathing through an enchanted forest in her mind, I silently opened the notes on my phone and began writing this piece—somewhat of a meditation in its own right. During this journey of motherhood—seven years in now—I have always come back to the page to find my way through times of change, intense growth, love, and fear. To also find readers. Those of you who have felt as I feel, who have expanded as I am, who have learnt the exact lessons that currently unfold at my feet and in my heart. 

So, here I show up again in the process of healing, with the supporting soundtrack of a guided meditation journey, designed for children. Designed, at this moment, for Grace. 

I found this acoustic bed-friend when my daughter began showing signs of anxiety. It was particularly potent when her co-parenting schedule changed and I could see the effects tentacle into school drop-offs, grandparent play dates, and even trips to the washing line. She was looking for ways to soothe and I desperately wanted to help her.

The extension of our emotional response

Sleeplessness, anxiety, worry, stress. If we feel it, they feel it. If we haven’t processed it, they will try to regulate it. As mothers on a more conscious parenting journey, we often hear that the healing lies within ourselves. Great *said with a mix of sarcasm and knowingness*. It’s an empowering concept, but also a daunting one. Especially when you’re staring down the barrel of another sleepless night, Googling the root manifestation of children’s attachment theories, while questioning the impact of your own early childhood. I know it’s not just me. And, the worst cycle I found myself in was accepting it as ‘normal’. 

This has become common rhetoric: “My baby won’t sleep.” “My toddler is having constant meltdowns.” “My 5yo screams every time I drop them at school.” It’s almost like we begin to bond in these shared experiences of emotional dysregulation. We look for remedies, we ask for help, we hire sleep specialists, and try lavender bath bubbles. And we look to heal our own stuff so that we can parent with emotional regularity and grounded presence—and here is where I began to witness my daughter’s emotions as a mirror. 

“Children are sensitive, intuitive beings,” says Gill Howarth, Early Childhood Teacher and Education Consultant. “They can pick up on our fears, worries, and anxieties, even when we think our ‘happy face’ is so convincing.”

This is essentially the origin point of Lightweavers, the children’s meditation platform that I now use daily with Grace—on the commute to school, on parent transition days, as part of her sleep routine, and as often as she asks for it. Actually, ‘children’s meditation’ is a limiting description of Lightweavers, and co-creator, Tara Aldridge, explains it far better than my reductive attempts. 

“Lightweavers is energy alchemy through words. It’s often described as children’s meditation and that’s absolutely perfect, but it is also intuitive, channelled healing,” says Tara, yoga and meditation teacher. “And it’s for parents too.”

The education model found within

With all the attempts at ‘fixing’ our children’s challenges, we (okay, I) tended to look to outside forces. But what I’m beginning to learn is that a) we don’t need to ‘fix’ anything, and b) the tools they actually need are grown from within.

“Tara and I wanted to create something that tapped into the inner world of children through storytelling,” says Gill. “So much of their education is external—they’re constantly learning from outside of themselves. But through imagination, storytelling, and creativity, their inner landscape strengthens, and they have the power to draw on that anytime they want or need.”

Oh, and c) the parts of their journey that trigger emotional stirring within us, are simply calling for our attention. That’s exactly why Lightweavers integrates the parent connection to child and self—journal prompts, creative practices, and meditations that alchemise in the wisdom.

The gift of air and emotional regulation (same, same) 

When Cara’s son was bedbound in hospital for weeks after a bike accident, her active five-year-old went from the freedom of living on a rural property in a home school environment, to complete environmental isolation and sterility. He was in a forced sedentary position for three weeks in hospital and in a wheelchair for four months afterwards.

“We were in this environment that was so outside of the lifestyle we had created, but I didn’t want to throw out all of our values just to cope,” remembers Cara. “I brought in food from our farm and kept screentime at a minimum, but Taj was seriously struggling with anxiety, and it showed up as insomnia.”

In a world of artificial light and noise, where he didn’t have the autonomy to move, Taj couldn’t switch off his mind to get the rest his body desperately needed. A year and a half after the accident, Cara still remembers his constant requests for fresh air.

“I was yearning for anything that could help Taj. So, while our neighbour brought in jars of fresh air from home, Tara sent an early release of her new meditation audios.”

Lightweavers was in its early stages of development, but one particular guided story gave Taj the rest and internal soothing he was seeking. Cara used the meditations every evening, describing the audio gift as a tool that completely changed the energy of the space, including her own. 

“Taj is almost seven now and he still talks about the cloak story. He says that he will wrap himself up in it whenever he needs to feel safe. It’s like this inner tool that he now has in his arsenal for life.”

A tool for children to access whenever they need

During the research phase of this article, I relayed Taj’s feedback to Gill and Tara and their response was nothing short of joy.

“That’s exactly it,” says Tara. “Lightweavers is about guiding children towards themselves so that they can access the internal spaces of safety and belonging that are always there. This program isn’t a crutch, it’s a guide back to themselves so that they will always have an anchor.” 

The support for you, Mama 

While I found Lightweavers for Grace, the discovery (as always), was within myself. My own desire to be supported and guided into a safe space within my own emotional body. The parent journey track and the parent/child meditation allowed me to hold myself through what my daughter was going through. To find my centre. To continue my journey as I mother Grace and find my way back home to myself.