5 Kid-Friendly Mindfulness Exercises

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Mindfulness exercises are wonderful for adults and children alike. Teaching our children mindfulness at a young age can help set them up for success as adults. And, studies show it can lead to benefits such as increased focus and self-control, improved academic performance, and decreased levels of stress.

There’s no getting around it though, mindful parenting is effing hard. Worth it, but still hard. When a kid is in full meltdown mode, it's super hard to keep cool. However, I intend on raising a thoughtful, confident, and caring human (as I know you are, too), so I’m constantly looking for new and better techniques to handle my almost 5-year-old's big emotions. While I'm endlessly learning and taking motherhood day by day, there are several mindfulness exercises we already practice at home to help our son regulate and become more aware of his feelings and surroundings.

Without further ado, here are 5 kid-friendly mindfulness exercises to try with your kiddos.

1. Mindful Meals

If you’re the parent or caregiver of a young human, you know getting your littles to eat can oftentimes be a DANG STRUGGLE. Jamey will specifically ask for something, I will make it with all the love (okay, I don’t cook much, but those PB&J’s and ramen noodles are filled with love), set the plate in front of him only to hear “I changed my mind.” Cue my internal fury.

We like to try a little “game” that is mindful eating. It starts off with smelling the food we’re about to eat and asking “What does it smell like?” Sweet, salty, vegetabley (we’ll pretend that’s a word)? Next, we look very closely at the food. Does it look soft? Crunchy? Does it have seeds? What details can we notice in our food? Last, we take one bite of the food and chew as thoroughly as possible. Does the taste change the more we chew? What does it feel like in our bodies as we eat?

This exercise will usually get Jamey interested in his food, and I have to say it’s helped me appreciate my food more, too. Food is delicious and eating is one of the many joys in life! Now if only the East coast would get some Whataburgers and Taco Villa…..

2. "Apples and Onions" of the Day

This is another fun, easy exercise we like to do at dinner time, but it can be done any time in the day. As a family, we tell each other three “apples”, or things we were grateful for that day, and one “onion”, something we didn’t like or wished would have happened differently. Lately though, Jamey wants to change it to “Rainbows” and “Stinky Farts” of the day. He’s a unique little man.

Research suggests that showing gratitude has tons of benefits, including improved mental health. And, the more we notice what we’re grateful for, the more we have to be grateful for! It’s bonkers. It doesn’t have to be something big, either. Our answers at home usually consist of *at least* one food item. We just bought new memory foam cooling pillows and that definitely made my list the day they arrived. Whatever it is that you and your little one come up with is a great answer.

3. Body Scan

One night when Jamey couldn’t fall asleep, I guided him through a quick body scan in bed. This is a common meditation practice where you pay attention to each part of your body in a gradual sequence from feet to head or vice versa. It helps to bring awareness to each part of your body.

In my best soothing voice, I told him to imagine a light shining down on him (which he quickly wanted to change to a rainbow), and each part of the body that the rainbow touched helped that part relax.

It turned out, he loved it. Now, he frequently requests it during bedtime routine. The scan can be as quick or as slow as you’d like, though I’ve noticed when I take around 3-5 minutes to go through it and name more body parts, the more relaxed he is by the end.

4. Fist Squeeze

My beautiful, kind-hearted, loving, intelligent 4-year old also has a bit of an impulsive side. While it’s mainly towards his dad and me, sometimes it’s with others, too. Self-control is a difficult thing for many grown-ass adults… Imagine what it’s like for a wee child trying to figure out this scary world and their own boundaries.

Something I try with Jamey is first, naming the feeling he is going through. For example, “You are mad that I said no more screen time.” If he’s not in full tantrum mode and is able to take a breath, we try some fist squeezes. Together, we take a big inhale, squeeze our fists as tight as we can, and exhale, release our hands. I tell him to imagine the anger flying out of his hands and getting lesser with each exhale. We repeat this until he is calmer. Sometimes he’ll participate, sometimes he won’t. As long as he's not hitting or throwing stuff, I view it as a success. ;)

What’s most important is that his father and I remain calm when Jamey is not. We don’t nail it every time, but if we can maintain calm in the eye of a 4-year old storm, I’m certain Jamey will eventually learn it, too. Humans learn by example, after all!

5. Affirmations Song

Whilst browsing the super-addictive Instagram one day, I came upon this amazing mom. For some reason, her song makes me cry every. single. time. I immediately learned the lyrics and began singing it to Jamey. He wanted to change one of the words, but he loves it and sings along a lot of the time.

Research shows that saying things out loud is great for memory. And, the way we speak to ourselves becomes what we believe. Jamey whole-heartedly believes he is brave, cool, smart, and loved.

Mindfulness is quickly becoming more and more popular, especially in parenting. There are tons and tons of mindfulness exercises out there to practice yourself and to do along with your kids. We have this Mindful Kids box set at home and Jamey often likes to pick some out for us to do together. I also love the books Raising Good Humans and The Whole-Brain Child.

No matter what, remember that mindfulness is a practice, and like everything else in life, the more you practice, the better you, and your child, will get.