In my past posts as well as in other media there has been growing discussion about and awareness of the benefits of activities such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises. These are all strategies which help us focus on the present moment. Most frequently, the discussion has centered around workplace issues. There is a body of research showing that the above exercises lower stress, reduce anxiety, improve sleep and general health, and reduce depression and pain. Meditators have been shown to have increased brain activity in areas known to induce calmning effects, such as the anterior cingulate cortex. Calm breathing triggers the parasympathetic nervous system which reduces stress through slowing heart rate and lowering blood pressure. I and my co-author reviewed all this material in our book (I Can’t Take It Anymore: How to Manage Stress so It Doesn’t Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.) available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056. For more details about the authors, book, and stress management, please visit our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com But for all this work, less attention had been paid to the potential positive effects of mindfulness strategies for children. That has been changing with articles such as in Time Magazine for October 3, 2016, titled "The Mindful Classroom" by Mandy Oaklander, as well as multiple online articles such as "Why Children Need Mindfulness Just As Much as Adults Do" by Carolyn Gregoire of the Huffington Post for June 3, 2014.
Being mindful essentially is the ability to sustain a focused awareness on the present moment. Mindfulness practice has been shown to increase our abilities to focus and attend. It may be as effective for children as it is for adults. Research is accumulating to demonstrate that mindfulness has positive effects for many challenges children confront. Children increasingly face stress and this can affect their health including as adults. In Gregoire's article, reference was made to a University of Florida study that found that "stressful events can impact a child's health and well-being almost immediately, and can contribute to the development of physical and mental health problems and learning disabilities". Children suffer increasingly from anxiety and diagnoses for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also are increasing each year.
Most research on mindfulness with children has been done in school settings. There is evidence that youngsters as young as 4 years who practice the skills have reduced test anxiety and fewer ADHD symptoms. There also has been noted improved sleep quality and math scores. Various authors have suggested that the positive effects can include social skills such as improved compassion and kindness. There have been benefits in studies with children with ADHD in reducing disruptive behaviors. Mindfulness programs achieve incremental benefit when the teachers and/or parents also engage in such training.
To give an idea of ways to involve children in mindfulness, here are five of Sarah Rudell Beach's from her post titled "8 Ways to Teach Mindfulness to Kids" in the Huffington Post for September 22, 2014:
1. Listen to the bell. An easy way for children to practice mindfulness is to focus on paying attention to what they can hear. You can use a bell or a set of chimes. Tell your child that you will make the sound, and they should listen carefully until they can no longer hear the sound (which is usually 30 seconds to a minute).
2. Practice with a breathing buddy. For young children, an instruction to simply “pay attention to the breath” may be hard to follow. One way is for each student to grab a stuffed animal, and then lie down on their back with their buddy on their belly. They focus their attention on the rise and fall of the stuffed animal as they breathe in and out. Other ways include placing one hand on the chest and one on the belly to allow the child to follow and focus on their breathing.
3. Make your walks mindful. Go on a “noticing walk.” As you walk in the neighborhood, notice things you haven’t seen before. A favorite of my grand daughter when she was young was to do the exercise "I spy with my eye something . . ." and then encourage her attention. You also can designate one minute of the walk to be completely silent and simply pay attention to all the sounds you can hear.
4. Establish a gratitude practice. Gratitude is a fundamental component of mindfulness, teaching children to appreciate the abundance in their lives, as opposed to focusing on all their material possessions.
5. Practice mindful eating. The exercise of mindfully eating a raisin or a piece of chocolate is a staple of mindfulness education, and is a great activity for kids.
If we can combine teaching children to overcome limiting thoughts with teaching mindfulness strategies, we can raise a new generation of children well able to manage their stresses, be happier, and get along better with others. Good luck to all on the journey.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For information on these and related posts, please see my website at www.successandmindset.com