Helping Children Become More Mindful | Tufts Now - 77 views
now.tufts.edu/...g-children-become-more-mindful
education children mindfulness WillardChris breathing
shared by Maughn Gregory on 24 Aug 11
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kids are distracted and a little on edge these days, says the Tufts psychologist Christopher Willard
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Child’s Mind: Mindfulness Practices to Help Our Children Be More Focused, Calm and Relaxed (Parallax Press)
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The central idea of mindfulness, he says, is to bring a very focused awareness of the present moment into our everyday lives through things such as breathing exercises and actively listening to and observing the world around us.
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Studies have shown that children can learn to regulate their emotions and concentrate better with the aid of mindfulness practices. Even children with attention deficit disorders have learned to concentrate better using these kinds of exercises.
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Children as young as four, he says, can be taught to breathe in and out in a conscious way, with a little visual help. To do this, he suggests having the child lie on her back with a stuffed animal or pillow on her belly, which helps her become aware of her breathing as she watches the object go up and down.
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Another mindfulness exercise is to ask a child to listen carefully for about a minute and then name five sounds he heard while being quiet.