The Importance Of Children's Mindfulness Practice by The Essential Soul

Imagine allowing your children the opportunity to practice mindfulness from a young age, giving them the ability to make it a part of their daily routine so that when they do grow into adults, the tools they have been using all their life become second nature for a calmer, more emotionally controlled and focused lifestyle? 

Mindfulness is the idea of learning how to be fully present and engaged in the moment, aware of your thoughts and feelings without distraction or judgment of your outside surroundings. With the current pressures this world faces, it can be very challenging to allow our body and our mind to switch off and turn within for some self connection.  

But why should we encourage our little ones to practice mindfulness? Did you know that there are several benefits of mindfulness for children for various areas in life. Research has shown that practicing Mindfulness can allow children to:

- Increase their level of focus. 
- Better manage conflict resolution
- Increased attention levels.
- Experience more awareness of their body, thoughts, and emotions and are more open to discussion around these areas. 
-Resilience and emotional regulation are more stabilised
- Decrease levels of stress and anxiety.
- Improve impulse control and interpersonal skills.
- Increase in executive function, a key predictor of academic success. 

The benefits of practicing mindfulness as a child are evident and when research shows that 90% of disease is caused by stress, this practice not only assists children with their ability to function day to day but also increases the likelihood of a healthy immunity and a strong level of emotional resilience. 

So what are some ways we can help our little souls build their emotional resilience?

- Allow them to talk about feelings: This will help our children to learn to share their worries, fears, feelings with people they trust rather than replacing that with a behaviour
- Time is precious: Giving children the time to solve problems and work through things themselves. This builds on their tool kit of ways to deal with particular situations they’re faced with. Use gentle questions to guide your child towards a solution if they are having trouble.
- Quality moments: Spend quality time with your kids. When children feel loved and supported, they are able to develop emotional strength.
- Mistakes: Show children how to acknowledge mistakes and apologise when we as parents react in a way that isn’t ideal. This is essential for our children to learn and grow and to know its ok to make mistakes.
- Praise: When our babies experience failure or disappointment, take the time to praise their effort and encourage them to continue trying.
- Nutrition: Ensure your children are eating well and getting enough sleep and exercise. 

For me personally, learning to practice mindfulness as an adult has been a journey and if I’m honest it still is. Mindfulness is not something I was exposed to as a child and so as an adult, I’ve really had to work hard to condition myself to take the time to implement it as part of my lifestyle so that I can really reap the benefits of it throughout the day. When mindfulness is incorporated into the life of a child every single day from a young age, it creates routine and habit and before long it becomes the norm as our little souls grow through the stages of life, without the need to recondition the mind as an adult.  

In my 9 week Little Mindful Souls Program, I aim to really encourage children to gain knowledge and skills so that they are able to support their own wellbeing, in an attempt to lessen anxiety and stress and better manage those big emotions. Repeated mindfulness practice will give our children permission to feel how they feel, but be in control of their behaviour, because let’s not forget, it’s so important for our children to be aware that feeling their emotions is absolutely ok, it’s how they react in response to those emotions that they need to develop their skills in.

Through breathwork techniques, focus, movement, meditation, and activities, Little Mindful Souls will be providing lifelong skills that our children can carry right into adulthood. Imagine being able to give our babies that opportunity and head start as a parent?  

Our children’s future is worth this investment.
Our children’s health is worth the investment.
Our children… are worth the investment!

Want to know more about the Little Mindful Souls Program? Shoot me a DM @the.essential.soul with the word MINDFUL and let’s get your little ones linked in with the greatest gift you could give them.