Today, the world is so fast-paced that we easily miss the things that are going on around us. Most of us are too caught up in different things to notice what’s happening around us. Some of us distracted by things that happened yesterday, while others are worried about what will happen tomorrow, making them unaware of the present.
Just like adults, children may also get easily distracted. If not addressed, this problem can lead to certain difficulties such as mismanaging emotions and difficult behavior. This is why mindfulness must be taught while they are young. This is all about becoming fully aware of what’s currently happening. According to research, mindfulness is beneficial for children’s brains and it helps improve their behavior. They will also acquire longer attention spans and enjoy better mental health. Mindfulness will also help your family in handling stress. This is why some schools are providing mindfulness programs for the little ones. Schools that teach mindfulness skills are known to have students with less discipline problems.
Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to teach children to be more mindful. Here are a couple of effective ways to teach your children to be mindful:
Pay Attention and Count Breaths
Paying attention to breathing is not only a way to relax, but it can help them to be mindful. Encourage your little ones to close their eyes, breathe deeply, and count their breaths. They can start off by counting one when they inhale, then two when they exhale. When they get distracted and their minds start wandering, urge them to return to counting. This should teach them to be more aware of their breathing and how they feel when they are mindful.
Draw an Everyday Object
Give your children an ordinary object that they can see daily such as a rock or a leaf. Let them spend some time observing this object. This will help them focus by concentrating on a specific object. Looking at the item more closely will give them a new perspective. After this, tell your little ones to draw it and talk about their experience. Remind them that this is not an art contest, and let them know that this activity is for them to learn how to focus and pay attention to things.
Engaging in Yoga
Yoga is an excellent way for children to enhance their awareness of the connection between their mind and body. Child-friendly yoga poses can help your little ones be more mindful. You can also enroll your child in a yoga class or search for yoga videos online. Practice Yoga together at home and include this in your daily routine. Just like other activities that promote mindfulness, yoga will also help your children learn other life skills.
Smell and Tell
Give your little ones something fragrant, such as sweet-smelling flowers or a piece of fresh orange peel. Ask them to close their eyes and breathe in the scent of these objects. Encourage them to concentrate and only pay attention to the scent of the object. This is also an extremely helpful exercise to relieve anxiety.
Heartbeat Exercise
Have your children jump up and down for a minute. When this is done, let them take their seats and place their hands on their hearts. Tell them to close their eyes and focus on what they feel. Ask them about their heartbeats, their breath, as well as other things they noticed about their bodies after jumping. This will not only be mindful, but they will also discover new things about themselves.
Encourage Outdoor Play Great for Mindfulness
The best thing about playing outdoors is that it’s not only fun, but it is also highly beneficial especially for children who are still undergoing development. In fact, this can also help your little ones enhance their mindfulness. Encourage your children to go out and play will help them be more mindful and aware of their surroundings.
While outside, encourage your children to pay attention to nature and other things that are around then allow them to get close and inspect these things as long as it’s safe. Another thing you can also do when outdoors is to play with one of the coolest Whistlecopter toys. When the Original Copters are up in the sky, your little ones can focus on these since they have to catch the toy when it floats down to them.
The Original Copter is a great toy from Whistlecopter that comes with the exclusive Viper Launcher and a 7-inch red rubber band for you to easily launch them 200 feet into the sky. Each Original Copter is individually packed with an instruction card. The Original Copter also features the Super Glow Wings which make it emit brighter lights than ever. What’s special about this toy is that it can reach a maximum height of 200 feet; plus, it also comes with brand-new batteries not old ones as most Knockoff copters do. Most importantly, the Original Copter has the brightest LED light around so they look just like fireworks in the sky. The Original Copter is made from high-quality and non-toxic materials that everyone can enjoy playing with without worries.
Want to see something cool? Check out this video and watch this Whistlecopter vendor catching the copter with his mouth then behind his back!