The arrival of the pandemic and the environment in which we live makes us face stressful situations, so it is super important to encourage the emotional development of our little ones; meditation for children is a way to achieve this. These tips will help you promote this practice.
Sometimes we think of meditation as a practice for adults; however, children also go through stressful situations, so it is essential to make meditation a daily routine.
Maayan Jinich, a guide in Buddhist meditation and Mindfulness, commented that social networks make us see life “outside,” so we forget what is inside us. Given this, she highlighted the importance of spending time with ourselves and doing meditation, a daily exercise in our routine, to which we allocate a moment of the day.
“Make sure your children spend time with themselves. Do this a 15-minute daily practice before going to bed; it is a moment they will have to scan themselves to see how they feel, what they can learn from their day, what they liked or didn’t like, to begin to get to know and recognize themselves”.
The Buddhist meditation and mindfulness guide highlighted that meditation is a tool to know ourselves and understand our needs.
“If you give this tool (meditation) to a child from an early age, he will become very self-assured because he will begin to know himself”.
These are some tips that Maayan Jinich shares with us to practice meditation in children.
These are some tips that Maayan Jinich shares with us to practice meditation in children.
In our home, let us choose a place where we feel comfortable and can relax to meditate.
“Look for a quiet place, preferably in your children’s bedroom. Let them choose a little spot special for them, a warm place, where they can sit on the floor, where there is no interference so that their time to meditate does not have distractors, and they can connect”.
Make room in your routine
To make meditation part of our daily lives, we must assign a time to meditate to encourage consistency. Preferably that time is at night before falling asleep.
“Before sleeping, children will meditate and be thankful. It is a way to acknowledge what they have instead of what they lack. It generates moments of a lot of intimateness. If they want to express something, they can do it. That builds links”.
Suitable music
Music plays a fundamental role in meditation since it helps us create an atmosphere. You can search for classical music or a playlist to meditate on YouTube.
Thank together
Once you have chosen the place, the music, and you are comfortable, be grateful for everything you have; this will make your children see gratitude as a daily practice. They will also learn to value their environment and feel lucky.
“It is important to cultivate gratitude in children, to see what they do have, what they do see. Teach them from their young age to thank is one of the greatest issues that we should promote in our children”.
Connect with the heart
Once you have thanked, take a deep breath and connect with your heart and feelings; ask your little one how he feels and how his day was. With this, you will bring your kid closer to meditation, to his spiritual being.
“Sit on the floor, connect with your breath, with your heart. As a mother, you can ask your kid how he feels, what things he has to be thankful for, elicit him to tell you something beautiful that happened to him that day”.
Short sessions
In children, the ideal is that the sessions do not last more than 15 minutes before going to sleep so that they do not get bored and see meditation as something obligatory that later generates rejection.
“Short times, warm space, let there be laughter so that it does not become an inquisitive practice as an obligation, let it be a practice of joy, of laughing, do not take yourself so seriously so that the children start to enjoy”.
Get together with your family and together put these tips into practice.
Translated by: Ligia M. Oliver
