Family Tips: Mindfulness for Families
Mindfulness is a word which is often misunderstood and can mean different things to different people. There are many benefits of developing mindfulness for all of your family members, no matter their age.
Mindfulness is simply about BEING present in the moment. The beauty of mindfulness is that absolutely anything can be done ‘mindfully’. Plus it is accessible to anyone, at any age and from any background.
Benefits of Mindfulness for Families
The regular use and practice of mindfulness can have many benefits including:
- Stress reduction
- Improved emotional wellbeing
- Reduction of anxiety and depression
- Improved social skills
- Increased confidence
- Heightened feeling of connection to others
The ability to pay attention in the present moment is an incredibly valuable skill that we can learn from a young age. Learning this skill early in life gives children a huge advantage in managing the twists and turns of life as they grow and develop.
When we are able to be more present to our experiences we feel calmer, more focused and develop a more positive outlook on ourselves and life.
Like anything, the more we practise mindfulness the easier and more automatic it becomes.
There are different aspects to mindfulness that you or your child can develop. These include focus, noticing, concentration and sensing.
Helping Children Develop Mindfulness
Here we share some ideas for helping your child to build their ‘mindfulness muscles’:
- Arts and crafts activities are a great way for your child to learn to focus and concentrate
- Stopping to appreciate things with your child helps them develop their skills of noticing and sensing
- Listening to music and pointing out the different instruments or lyrics helps them with sensing and noticing
- Looking after pets or pot plants helps children develop compassion and noticing others’ experience
We hope these tips will help you and your family to develop mindfulness.