Today, I’m sharing a Guest Post from my friends at Roots of Being. I hope you enjoy!

Meditation

Many adults often meditate for both mental and physical reasons, but what many don’t realize is that Meditation can be very beneficial for kids as well. In fact, a study done by UCLA showed that meditation encourages children to overcome their fears and even works to improve their memory. 

If you are interested in learning more about how meditation can be beneficial for kids, you’ll want to keep reading. Below you’ll discover more about this practice and some ways you can inspire kids to try doing it. 

What is Mindfulness Meditation?

Mindfulness Meditation is an attention technique that is designed to help you stay calm and relaxed. It is meant to help reduce stress in the body by teaching you how to deal with anxiety strong emotions, which often overwhelm the brain. 

This is particularly useful in Children, who often have a hard time expressing their emotions verbally. 

What Can Meditation Help With?

Meditation can be useful for many things. While it is usually done for relaxation purposes, meditation can also be used to help with:

• Learning how to properly communicate with others
• Dealing with fear and grief
• Insomnia
• Depression

Do Kids Need to be a Certain Age to Meditate?

Kids of all ages can meditate, although young children might not fully understand what meditation means until they get older. Certainly kids as young as 4 can learn meditation techniques and benefit from the practice. But it’s usually around the ages of 9-12 years old that children start to understand what meditation is and why it is important. 

The Benefits of Meditation for Children

You’ll find that meditation comes with plenty of benefits for children. Below are a few of them. 

It Helps to Increase Their Attention Span

Kids are often energetic, and if something doesn’t interest them, they quickly turn their attention to other things. However, this isn’t always possible in the real world. Meditation works to teach children how to focus on things, even those that might not be the most exciting. Due to this, it can increase their attention span in various areas. 

It Reduces Stress

Children often don’t know how to handle stressful situations well which can lead to various side effects, such as depression. By meditating, they will work to train their brain to be calm which can significantly reduce stress and tension in their body. It also helps them to be more aware of their surroundings and teaches them how to deal with situations that might be scary. 

It Can Help Them Be More Compassionate and Positive

Numerous studies have shown that meditation can help to teach kids how to be more compassionate. This is because meditation teaches them to have more perspective and emotional control. Because of this, meditation can help them learn to be kind and understanding in numerous situations. 

Meditation can also help kids to be more positive as it reduces stress and promotes self-discipline. Meditation will work in the subconscious areas of the mind which often contains thoughts that can lead to depression and negativity. Due to this, it not only keeps kids positive, but happier as well. 

It Works to Reduce Obesity

Obesity is a common problem in many kids today. We’re up to the point where approximately one in three kids in the U.S. is overweight. While obesity can be caused by a poor diet or genetics, it can also be due to low self-esteem, stress, and depression. 

Meditation works to help reduce the chances of a child becoming obese due to reasons such as these. Mindfulness can help build up a child’s self-worth and can teach them they have an important place in the world. 

It can also help those who might be overweight improve their health by encouraging them to be aware of their actions and what they are doing in the present moment. This can work to reduce inattentive eating.

It Helps with ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a medical condition that many children suffer from which can cause them to make very impulsive decisions and be hyper. While medications can be taken to help with it, they sometimes come with a few side effects, such as headaches and moodiness. 

Meditation is a natural solution for ADHD as it works to strengthen the brain’s prefrontal cortex – the area that is used for decision making, expressions, and social behavior. It can also release serotonin and dopamine in the body which work to calm the body down while also improving memory, digestion, and temperament.

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Ways to Help Children Meditate

There are a few ways you can teach kids how to meditate. Below are some kid-friendly options to try. 

Deep Breathing Techniques

A great way to show kids the power of meditation is to have them try deep breathing. You can teach them to take a deep breath, hold it, and then slowly let the air out. You can compare it to them blowing up a balloon and then letting the air out of it. To help teach them how to slowly let out air, you can have them make soft noises when doing so. 

Observation Exercises

An important aspect of meditation is to learn how to stay present in the moment. You can teach kids this vital principle by having them work on their observation skills. To do so, you can have them use their senses to observe what is around them. You can have them touch, smell, or taste things as a way for them to not only learn, but stay grounded. 

Have Them Blow Bubbles

While this might strike some as odd, blowing bubbles is a great way to teach kids about meditation and mindfulness. You can have kids blow bubbles while also teaching them how to control their breathing when doing so. Once they blow a bubble, have them carefully watch it float away and allow them to describe what it is doing and what it looks like. 

Conclusion

Meditation is incredibly important to introduce to kids as a way to help them naturally deal with problems such as stress, depression, and poor concentration. It not only is easy for them to do, but has been proven to help them be happier and healthier. 

For more information on meditation of all sorts, visit RootsofBeing.

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