This is how we do meditation with kids. We get a very quiet place just sitting. I let kids either sit or lie down. I love to do body scans with kids, which basically focus on one part of their body at a time. So we’ll start with the head. I’ll be like, “Close your eyes. Focus on your head. Focus on your eyes.” So I start there with them really doing the body scan, where they’re focusing on each part of their body. That’s really helpful because that helps them get into a meditative state, and it’s a very easy way to get them started to understand it. You can do some visual meditations with kids. Like, have them visualize. They’re at the beach or wherever their favorite place is. So I’ve done that with kids, but I love doing body scans. I think it’s a great way to help them because it also gives them something to think about. Because, like we’re saying, “Close your eyes and breathe.”
Kids are just like that; they’ll start thinking about whatever it is, like TV, Fortnite, or whatever. But if you have them actually thinking about their bodies, it keeps them focused on whatever it is that you’re saying. Like, focus on your feet, or now feel how heavy they are. There’s also some great scripts online. If you just type in body scans online, if you’re a person who wants to learn how to do some meditation with your kids, you can find some great scripts online that you can read and do with them. And it’s fun to do it with them. I’ve even sat in my office and done it with them. So we’ll both lay on the ground, and then I’ll read it, and I’ll be like, “We do it together.” They love it. Whenever you do it with them, you can even find some recordings of some on different apps. So you can do all this kind of stuff with your kids, which I think is great to model.
How do we preframe what we’re going to do with them? So we’ll talk, and we’re going to do a meditation to calm down, just to get calm and relax. Sometimes, when they come in or if I’m seeing them, they’re coming right from school, or they’re really stressed out, or they’ve had something. So I try to get them to be calm. So I said, “We’re just going to calm down.” So I’ll usually turn the lights down. And I tell them, too, “If you’re uncomfortable or don’t like this, just let me know.” But usually they are excited or they’re just interested in it. And after they’ve done it with me a couple of times, they understand. So I just let them know that we’re going to pay attention to how our body is feeling. We’re going to just focus on each part of the body and get it to relax. And then, when we’re done, you’re going to feel completely different. And I’ll tell them, “I want you to think about how your body feels now. And then we’re going to talk about it when we’re finished. And what do you see as the difference?”
Listen to the full episode here:
“Mindful Parenting: Nurturing Calmness in Children” with Anastasia Arauz
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