Mindfulness is a meditative practice that involves learning to pay attention to the present moment with an attitude of openness and kindness.

If there was a way to help kids pay more attention, exercise more generosity and kindness with their peers, perform better in school, and be more aware of themselves and others, would you try it?  

Educators are increasingly recognizing how social, emotional, and cognitive functioning are intermingled. In other words, that kids may have difficulty in school when emotional challenges arise which in turn impacts their learning. mindfulness

Can you imagine the positive changes our schools, community, and world would experience if cultivating emotional intelligence was at the forefront of education?

The question, of course, is how?

These days kids’ attention is often fragmented and dispersed. Television and video games, phones and tablets pull their minds in countless directions. Kids, as well as adults, are often lost in thought, rehashing the past or ruminating about the future.

Practising mindfulness enables us to dwell more fully in the present moment and attend to anything that arises with greater balance and ease. As such, it is about how we relate to experiences from moment to moment and how we relate to each other.

Through mindfulness, kids learn to pay attention, and are given tools to manage their emotions and calm their minds when they are stressed or upset. They are taught about gratitude, generosity, appreciating happy experiences, replacing negative self-talk and other practices that research has shown enhances kids' kindness and wellbeing.

Mindful awareness for kids is an emerging - and rapidly growing - area. Many of the world's leading child development experts view this training as a key tool for enhancing kids' mental and emotional wellbeing. Research clearly shows that mindfulness practice actually rewires the brain in ways that lead to greater personal effectiveness, kindness and happiness.

Research demonstrates that mindfulness training for children and teens:

Mindful awareness works by enabling you to pay closer attention to what is happening within you – your thoughts, feelings and emotions. Past studies show the ability to self-regulate in early childhood predicts better results later in life with health, academic achievement and financial stability. Early childhood is an opportune time to equip children with these skills since their brains are rapidly developing and can be a great asset in helping them cope with future life stress.

Tips for practicing more kindness and mindfulness with children:

A Loving-Kindness Practice for Young Children

Kindness practices are a key component of mindfulness training for children. These practices increase compassion and empathy in children both for themselves and others; lead to an increased understanding of differences as well as a sense of connection with themselves, others, and the world around them.

The expansive open-heartedness of loving-kindness and compassion practices is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our children. The foundation of loving kindness is being a gentle friend to yourself, no matter what kind of experience you happen to be having in the moment.

In Loving Kindness Meditation, we train in opening our hearts through the repetition of four heartfelt wishes that we send first to ourselves and then outward to an ever-expanding community, until we are able to hold the entire world in the loving-kindness of our attention. Even if we’ve never practiced a Loving Kindness Meditation ourselves, we can teach our children loving-kindness by sending the four wishes (or any loving thoughts – don’t be afraid to make up your own) to a pet, or a favourite toy or stuffed animal.

The four heartfelt wishes of Loving Kindness practice:

I believe these simple practices of learning to be truly present and relating to ourselves and others with more awareness and compassion can transform lives and communities.

Placing wellbeing at the heart of education is an important step towards a healthier, happier, more compassionate society.