{"id":3245,"date":"2019-02-21T09:14:48","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T17:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthykidshappykids.com\/?p=3245"},"modified":"2019-02-21T12:02:50","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T20:02:50","slug":"mindfulness-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vps37072.inmotionhosting.com\/~healt472\/2019\/02\/21\/mindfulness-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Mindfulness for Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mindfulness and Kids. Words that don\u2019t seem to go together naturally. But now, more than ever, as our children and teenagers are facing an epidemic of anxiety, we need to help our kids make mindfulness an EASY and EVERYDAY part of their lives.<\/p>\n

Before we can do that, though, we need to understand what mindfulness is.<\/p>\n

So what exactly is mindfulness? It\u2019s a word that\u2019s often thrown around casually, and paid lip service by many practitioners, without the What, the Why, and the How to actually make mindfulness a reality for children and adults.<\/p>\n

The What of Mindfulness\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n

A quick search on Google for \u201cwhat is mindfulness\u201d shows over 200 million entries! Clearly there\u2019s not a single definition that\u2019s going to cut it. One of my favorite definitions is by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction:<\/p>\n

Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way:<\/em>
\non purpose,<\/em>
\nin the present moment,<\/em>
\nand nonjudgmentally.<\/em><\/p>\n

In an effort to standardize the definition from a scientific standpoint for more consistent research, mindfulness researchers have defined mindfulness as:<\/p>\n

The self-regulation of attention<\/em>
\nwith an attitude of curiosity, openness, and acceptance.<\/em><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break this down.<\/p>\n

Self-regulation of attention<\/strong><\/span> \u2013 the ability to STOP<\/strong> and THINK<\/strong>, to deliberately shift your attention and focus on something \u2013 whether it\u2019s a flower you\u2019re looking at, or the food you\u2019re eating, or your breath as you inhale and exhale, or how your words or actions are making your friend feel. In fact, this ability to stay focused, and to stop and think BEFORE you act, also called \u201cself-control\u201d or “self-regulation,” is one of the biggest predictors of success for children across many studies on child development.<\/p>\n

Curiosity<\/strong> <\/span>\u2013 taking an interest in or having a desire to know more about something \u2013 in the case of mindfulness, taking an interest in what\u2019s happening around and in you.<\/p>\n

Openness<\/strong> <\/span>\u2013 a willingness to be honest and acknowledge what you\u2019re thinking, feeling and doing, without trying to hide or avoid, no matter how unpleasant or pleasant you feel.<\/p>\n

Acceptance<\/strong> <\/span>\u2013 receiving and embracing what is happening around you and what thoughts and feelings you\u2019re having without judgment or self-criticism.<\/p>\n

Mindfulness, then, is essentially the simple act of stopping, paying attention, and noticing what\u2019s happening around you, and everything you\u2019re feeling, thinking and doing in that particular moment with honesty and without judgment.<\/p>\n

Simple, right? Easy \u2013 not necessarily…<\/p>\n

In fact, a Harvard study<\/a>\u00a0found that we spend almost 50% of our time thinking about something else and NOT what we\u2019re actually doing! Mind-wandering, and thinking about what ISN\u2019T going on around us \u2013 like the argument we had last night with our kids or our partners, or the 20 things we have to get done by the end of the day \u2013 is a distinctly human trait, like multi-tasking, that does not serve us or our kids. Thinking about our shoulda coulda woulda\u2019s more often than not leads to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. The researchers note that \u201cMind-wandering appears ubiquitous across all activities\u2026 Mind-wandering is an excellent predictor of people\u2019s happiness\u2026 In fact, how often our minds leave the present and where they tend to go is a better predictor of our happiness than the activities in which we are engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA wandering mind is an unhappy mind.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

If mind-lessness makes us unhappy, then mindful-ness can be one of the paths to happiness. And if happiness isn\u2019t enough of a motivator, understanding the many other health benefits of mindfulness should help motivate you on your journey to be a more mindful parent and your children to be more mindful kids.<\/p>\n

The Why of Mindfulness\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n

The actual health benefits of mindfulness that have been researched and proven in scientific studies are almost too many to list, but here are just a few:<\/p>\n