At Kidevolve, we’re all about giving kids a variety of tools for greater self-awareness, resiliency and self-control - delve into our Imaginarium on Youtube or listen to our Creative Mind Journeys™ as audio experiences on Apple podcasts or at Kidevolve.com. Our uniquely sticky stories are designed for kids aged 6 through 12 - to help them find a new routes into learning mindfulness techniques. We mix music, sound fx, incredible voice talent and pure whimsy to deliver highly imaginative tales that double as smart guided practices!
Annaka Harris, best-selling author and mindfulness teacher (as well as wife of neuroscientist-philosopher-author-podcast creator Sam Harris), believes that teaching these skills to children is critical. She speaks often about her experience working with young children - and especially how she’s been surprised to learn that they are able pick up mindfulness techniques (and use them effectively) as young as four or five years old. She feels that teaching mindfulness to nine and ten year olds is the “sweet spot” (given their ability to process + their life experience), but she’s continually delighted by how naturally open and spongelike very young children are when learning these skills.
A few interesting notes:
She frequently teaches kids as young as kindergartners how to meditate (and has even taught preschoolers)
Both Sam and Annaka recognize it’s extremely beneficial for young kids to begin to recognize what emotions they’re going through
“Their minds are actually in a better state to learn to meditate than adults are, almost across the board”
We should be teaching children at a much earlier age how to self-regulate emotions by becoming aware of them
Check out Annaka’s latest tracks for kids on Sam Harris’ Waking Up meditation app.
Why Mindfulness for Kids?
The developing mind and heart of a young child is very distinct from that of an adult. As much as we adults feel the stress of exposure to violent media, worries about chronic and complex human challenges like climate change or the pandemic, lack of connection to nature, and a general sense of being rushed, developing minds are all the more sensitive to these stressors. As a parent or teacher, you are well aware of the gifts children bring into the world, they see things with fresh eyes, open hearts, and with an innocence we watch in awe. Even adolescents, as their world expands to include the larger human community, possess a unique sensitivity and passion for the state of the world. This greater openness means that all of the stresses of modern life are actually impacting kids in a much stronger way. Because of this, we need to nourish their developing hearts and minds with moments of stillness, quiet and calm.
Mindfulness can become a refuge for kids, a quiet place to return to in all the rush of the outside world, a steady place to stand in all the change and hard work of growing up.
Mindfulness practice can be applied to many different home and educational settings. Mindfulness has been used with at risk youth, youth with ADHD, autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, behavioural challenges, and developmentaldisabilities. The benefits of mindfulness practice can be quite palpable for any young person dealing with greater challenges.
Research has shown that regular, formal mindfulness practice develops the pre-frontal cortex of the brain and positively impacts functions such as regulating emotions, decision making and empathy.
Mindfulness is a wonderful empowerment tool for youth dealing with big life challenges. Mindfulness increases resilience, flexibility, and cultivates greater compassionate attunement towards oneself, which can often be missing development for high needs kids.
(Mindfulness for Kids - Adapted from Calm.com)