Mindfulness

Mindfulness for Children

The following information has been collated by Aberdeen City’s Educational Psychology Service to support adults (parents and education staff) in developing children and young people’s awareness of Mindfulness. We hope that the resources included will be supportive and helpful in nurturing resilience in a time of increased stress and uncertainty.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is really about awareness. It’s about being aware of our thoughts, our surroundings, our emotions and how we feel physically. It’s a powerful mental skill that can help us get through a stressful situation or let go of daily anxiety. It’s a bit of an abstract concept but an important one. And there are many ways to teach mindfulness including bringing attention to our daily activities.

Practicing Mindfulness is beneficial for children because it:

· Cultivates kindness and compassion

· Helps regulate emotions

· Form positive relationship

· Reduces anxiety and stress

· Nurtures resilience

· Increases focus and attention

There are many opportunities to practice Mindfulness in daily life with children and it offers them an opportunity to ‘un-plug’ from technology – focusing on the here and now in a considerate non-judgemental way.

This is called mindful awareness and it is a skill that can be developed by paying close attention to our present situation and our role in it. By reflecting on our thoughts and actions, we can decide how to make better choices.

A few ideas of how a child’s wellbeing can be nurtured by mindful practices can be found in the following pages. The suggested exercises target the senses (e.g. hearing, sight, taste). By mindfully observing their senses, children will become adept at sharpening their attention and using sensory experiences to enhance memory, problem solving, creativity and physical performance, as well as reduce stress and anxiety. Much of the information presented has been garnered from the MindUp Curriculum (https://mindup.org/) which teaches children to attend to the present moment.


Breathwork

Breathwork

Breathing and ‘breathwork’ has a big role to play in Mindfulness. By focusing on our breathing, we can have some control in slowing down our heart rate, lowering blood pressure and sharpening focus. Engaging in breathwork supports strong functioning of the Prefrontal Cortex (see image below) which helps regulate our emotional responses and reduce the ‘fight, flight or freeze’ response controlled by the Amygdala. Teaching children to focus and control their breathing can help them become less reactive and more reflective when feeling anxious or stressed. Dr Dan Siegel has developed with a very useful visual model of the brain that you might find useful:

Image: MindUp Curriculum

As children practice controlled breathing, their brains develop and reinforce the “habit” of responding to anxiety by focusing on breathing. The more controlled breathing is practised, the more self-managed and mindful children become.

It is helpful to remember specific (and fun!) breathing techniques that are great for adults, teens and children alike. Maybe you can breathe together at bedtime or when someone in the family is upset. Give these breathing techniques a try and see how much calmer your household or classroom can become.

Trace the butterfly with your finger starting in the middle and taking a deep breath in. As you cross over to the other side of the butterfly, slowly let your breath out. Continue breathing around the butterfly until you have a calm body and mind.

Developing one sense at a time

The human brain receives sensory information constantly, assessing incoming stimuli unconsciously for dangers. Information that is relevant to us will catch our attention, be that a smell, a sound, or something in eye line. The ability to differentiate and notice important details among the senses, helps children respond more mindfully to events and people, as well as focus attention and reduce stress and anxiety.

Following are some examples of how you can support your child to develop Mindfulness through the senses.

Mindful Listening

Usually we aren’t mindful of every sound, because our brain helps us focus our attention to sounds that are important. Whilst doing a breathing exercise with closed eyes, ask the child to notice sounds that they hear in their environment (e.g. birdsong, a lawnmower, a phone ringing). Show them that they can be aware of these sounds without having to act on them. Ask the child or young person about what sounds make them feel calm. Maybe ask them to write a story or draw a picture about different sounds they heard that day.

Example exercise:

Mindful Seeing

Our ability to visually distinguish precise details has given us a very rich and precise descriptive vocabulary. Mindful seeing enables us to better observe ourselves, other people and our surroundings to more fully enjoy and learn from them. Exercises targeting mindful seeing can help to strengthen vocabulary and memory.

Example exercise: Give a child an object to examine (e.g. a coin, a glass bead, a tree leaf). Create a web of descriptive words, supporting them to expand their vocabulary. Begin by describing colours more precisely - darker, bright, soft, bold, clear. Introduce names of colours that are not used every day – teal, mauve, indigo. Lines – long, straight, thick, curvy. Sides - soft/ hard edged, three dimensional.


Mindful Smelling

Using our sense of smell to be more aware of our environment can help us keenly observe our world and sharpen our memory. By catching a whiff of a familiar scent, our brain can call to mind people, places or things we associate with it. The sense of smell is connected to the emotion and memory centre of the brain. It can change mood or bring back memories. Through mindful smelling, children can focus their attention to their sense of smell and describe observations as well as identify thoughts and feelings triggered by various scents.

Example exercise: Gather familiar scents (e.g. coffee beans, vinegar, pepper, ginger, peppermint) in a container. Using a blind fold ask the child to smell and label. Ask them to describe the smell and what it reminds them of. Alternatively, ask the child or young person to list the smells they are exposed to each day when (for example) getting ready for school in the morning - soap, shampoo, toast, toothpaste. Or even, take a Mindful smelling walk with the child – actively noticing the smells in the present moment.


Mindful Tasting

Eating is rarely done mindfully by children. Mindful tasting can be a valuable task for demonstrating mindful awareness. A simple exercise of savouring and describing a morsel of food helps children understand the changes that can occur when an everyday act is performed slowly and with conscious attention to the experience.

Example Exercise: When eating ask children what the notice about the food? What does it taste like in their mouths? Did they notice any physical reactions, e.g. mouth-watering, lips puckering? The following YouTube video give a fun example of mindfully eating a piece of chocolate:

Mindful Movement

How often are we conscious of putting weight on each part of the sole of our foot as we walk? Being alert to the sensations of the body, whether we are active or at rest is a fundamental step in increasing mindful awareness. Our body and brain are partners. We get burned and the nerve cells in our skin send a signal to our brain to register pain. We get nervous and tense about an important test and our brain sends a signal to our body to sweat and cool down.

To move mindfully is to pay close attention to the sensations of our body when it’s at rest and when its active. Supporting children and young people to move mindfully, invites them to attend to internal and explore physical sensations and exercise control over their breathing and heart rate.

Example exercise: To do what good athletes do – monitor their pulse. Guide/ demonstrate/ explain how to find pulse: holding one hand up, press the index and middle finger of the other hand on wrist just below palm. Press index and middle finger of one hand on the top of neck, just under jaw (about mid-way between earlobe and chin). Engage in a fast-paced movement for 1-2 minutes, e.g. jogging on spot. STOP and take pulse. Explain that an elevated stronger and faster pulse show the heart is working hard to supply oxygenated blood. LINK – the heart can also beat faster when we are emotionally stressed / anxious / a bit scared. Just as we learn to control our breathing and clear our minds, we can also learn to bring down our heart rate. Do CORE breathing practise after the fast activity for 2-3 minutes and then take pulse – evidence that mindful focusing has an actual physical effect on our bodies.


Additional Resources

Guided Meditation

There is a wealth of guided meditations available on YouTube for you to browse through with your child or young person. Just find a comfy spot, either in a chair or on the floor and click play.

  • For children -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ_wdeog5Ek

  • For Teenagers –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRgVIslcSeo

Digital Applications (Apps)

Apps can be great tools for teaching children and young people about mindfulness, particularly breathing and meditation.

Books and Activities

Below are a few examples of what is available for children and young people. We’d also recommend simple things like colouring books and gratitude journals. Both help focus the mind and promote positive thinking.

We have also developed a taster training suitable for school staff, parents and carers, and older children:

An Introduction to Mindfulness