Kids who are just beginning to learn to manage their internal stuff benefit magnificently by being given some instruction rather than having to stumble through it on their own. Most adults I know (raises hand) wish that they had been given more guidance in this department when they were young.
The Just Be Calm Kids Mindfulness & Meditation Workshops are designed not only to teach children the skills needed to develop self-regulation but to provide parents the framework needed to support these skills.
Self-Regualtion & Self Awareness
Meditation & mindfulness teaches kids to connect with themselves. When they aren’t empathic, when they aren’t kind to others or in their community, it’s usually because they aren’t connected to themselves.
If you learn to be more aware of your thought processes and reactions in the present moment, it follows that you would be more in charge of your emotions and behaviors. Kids that are really impulsive, need help to learn to create some distance between stimuli & reaction. Meditation helps to bring about this mindfulness, but it is a skill that is learned over time.
Self-Esteem & Confidence
Most of the insecurities people have as adults can be traced back to their childhoods.
The self awareness brought about by meditation can bolster a childs feelings of security, empathy and inner stability, and this, in turn, builds compassion, joy and self-esteem.
Mindfulness for children helps kids gain self-awareness and become more confident which develops naturally when kids learn from their meditation practice that they don’t have to react to all of their thoughts and emotions – they can choose which ones are worthy of their attention and response.
Confident kids are better equipped to deal with unfamiliar situations and with this adaptability, become better problem solvers and develop a deeper appreciation of life.
Social & Emotional Development
Meditation seems to help to inspire kindness, compassion & empathy. Most undesirable behaviors that we see from kids, are lacking these components. Guided visualization meditation can help to teach the skills necessary for taking on different perspectives. The ability to see things from another’s point of view begins to shift a childs thinking from “me” to “we.”
Meditation & mindfulness activities help kids to build the skills needed for responsible decision making & prosocial behaviors as well as having a stronger sense of self and are more connected to and respectful of those around them.
Share You Calm Rather Than Join Their Chaos
If we begin to look at every meltdown or tantrum as a learning opportunity we can show children the contrast of results in the moment rather than simply in theory. Setting children up for creating their own success and self-accountability, rather than being their external regulator, ultimately nurtures emotional intelligence. In the same way that they will not learn math if we do their homework for them, they will not learn self-regulation if we are always regulating them.
The key to learning self-regulation skills is not to avoid situations that are difficult for kids to handle, but to guide kids through them and provide a supportive framework or “scaffolding” until they can handle these challenges on their own. Providing a blueprint and breaking the chain into small steps allows for the building self-regulation skills in manageable increments.
You put together a scaffolding fame work one level at a time. Introduce one skill and give them time to master it before introducing the next. Slowly challenging them to stretch beyond their current capability but at the same time keeping expectations realistic to ensure success.
When we as adults approach impulsive, inappropriate behavior calmly, give them guidance and time to reflect, kids can learn to choose better ways to respond to that situation. Non-judgmental and non-emotional feedback gives them the opportunity to learn: what went wrong, and why, and how they can fix it next time.
When kids are part of a reflective and analytical environment rather than one that’s emotional and fast-paced they can learn to make better choices. Slowing down allows children to become more thoughtful, reflective and self-aware.
Actionable Advice
These are easy concepts in theory but how do we actually put them into practice? Join us for the Just Be Calm Kids Mindfulness & Mediation Workshops where children (and parents) will learn in
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