软体沙发十大名牌排行榜 How Meditation Can Bring Calm to Busy Families

Is your child hing trouble with emotional regulation or processing strong emotions? Meditation might helpDon't expect kids to sit still and quiet through an entire meditation session; instead try activities like a quick body scan or even quietly blowing bubblesMeditation isn't a magical cure-all to make chaos disappear, but it can help kids feel more clear-headed and in control

For adults who live with anxiety, stress, sleep issues, and depression meditation can be a way to calm their overactive minds, clear their heads, and to feel composed and calm before a busy week. But what you might not know is that kids—yes, even the restless, rambunctious, and chaos-causing little ones—can benefit from meditation too.

Here, two therapists offer ideas for how to meditate with kids, and how meditation can help with stress, emotional regulation, and other issues you or your kids may struggle with, offering a path toward a calmer, more harmonious home life.

What Does Meditation Look Like For Kids?

Here’s something to keep in mind about meditation and kids: it’s not going to look like what most of us picture when we think of meditation—that is peace, quiet, no fidgeting or exasperated sighing—and that’s okay.

“Meditation for kids rarely looks like...sitting cross-legged on the floor for 20 minutes or more,” says Sloane Previdi, LMSW, a licensed psychotherapist specializing in parenting therapy. “The key is to make it accessible, engaging, and short—sometimes just a minute or two.”

Aerial Cetnar, PhD, licensed therapist and founder at Boulder Therapy & Wellness, agrees that meditation for kids is probably going to look a lot like squirming, trying to get comfortable, and asking a lot of questions along the way. Asking an adult to sit in silence for 10 to 20 minutes is hard as it is; for kids, it’s nearly impossible.

According to Dr. Cetnar, meditation for kids—and by that we mean elementary school age and up— be as simple as:

Taking a few deep breaths togetherListening to a short guided meditation on your phone or on YouTubeDoing a body scan while lying on the floor, which can take a little as five minutes

Meditation for younger kids (toddler and preschoolers) will look even less like traditional meditation, says Previdi. For this age group, meditation might consist of:

Playful breathing exercises like "smelling the flower and blowing out the candle"Guided visualizations ("imagine you’re floating on a cloud")Movement-based mindfulness, such as stretching while paying attention to breath Try Meditating With Your Kids

When it comes to kids and meditation, it can be helpful for them to become acclimated to the practice—and beneficial—to meditate along with your child, especially as they are still learning how to meditate.

“When parents and kids meditate together, it becomes a shared practice of slowing down and attuning to each other,” Previdi shares.

So where do you start? According to Previdi, meditating with your kids could include:

A family "belly breath" before bedA mindful walk where you name sounds you hear or simply observe your surroundingsA body scan would work in this context, too done where you each check in with how you’re feeling in different parts of bodies, from your head to your shoulders down to your legs and toes

Previdi frequently introduces meditation and mindfulness for both parents and kids in her therapy practice. “In my practice, I often introduce mindfulness as a co-regulation tool—helping parents and kids ground together when emotions run high,” she says. “It’s less about perfection and more about the intention to pause and connect.”

Benefits of Meditation for Kids

Meditation can he all sorts of benefits for kids—and not just in terms of mental health. Research has found that meditation for kids can improve school attendance and classroom attention. There’s also evidence that meditation can help kids with their overall psychological function, and may be able to help kids manage stress and decrease symptoms associated with traumatic experiences.

Meditation can help calm big feelings

Nathaly Martinez, a video producer, says that yoga and mediation he been helpful for her child when she needs to take a moment to calm down.

"We originally started doing yoga for indoor movement in the chilly Pennsylvania winter months. She went through a strong My Little Pony phase and Cosmic Kids Yoga had a great video with all her forite characters. One of the moves is Pip Petals: breathing in and closing your hands like a flower then exhaling slowing while opening the petals of the flower," Martinez goes on to explain. "She will occasionally use it herself when she feels overwhelmed. She has even taught her little sister who is 2-years-old how to do Pip Petals."

It might help reduce emotional reactivity

One powerful benefit of meditation is that it can teach kids to let their strong feelings lead them to make rash, impulsive decisions.

“Children, especially those who are anxious or emotionally reactive, often need help learning how to pause before reacting,” says Previdi.

Mediation gives them that break and strengthens their ability to notice what they’re feeling before the feeling completely overwhelms them. “Over time, this can reduce anxiety, improve emotional regulation, and increase self-awareness,” Previdi describes.

Kimberely Souza, who also works in film, television, and video production, jokes that her daughter has a "spicy temper sometimes." Souza decided to try meditation has a way to "help her regulate her big feelings." The method was actually a recommendation from her own therapist, who was helping Souza manage moments of postpartum rage.

"We do "lion breaths" (big inhales followed by a roar on the exhale), "bunny breaths" (a bunch of fast short little inhales & exhales followed by a big exhale), and "elephant breaths" (a big long sustained inhale followed by like an exhaling lip flutter, similar to a horse sound)," she says.

Kids who are easily overstimulated will benefit, too

Meditation is also helpful for kids who are easily overstimulated. It offers kids self-soothing tools, for when the world feels too loud, too busy, or just … too much. “Many kids I work with are nigating environments that aren’t always developmentally attuned to their needs,” Previdi shares. “Meditation helps them learn how to listen to themselves, even when the world doesn’t. That’s incredibly empowering.”

Finally, meditation can help kids become more in tune with what’s going on with them emotionally during times of intense emotion, so that they don’t get completely swept away with these experiences. “That can be really helpful for anxiety, big emotions, or those overstimulated moments when everything just feels like too much,” says Dr. Cetnar. “Meditation teaches kids that they don’t he to react right away and they can notice a feeling, breathe through it, and choose what to do next.”

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Meditation has profound benefits for parents, too, whether they are meditating with their kids or on their own. 

“Parenting is emotionally demanding, and it’s easy to get swept up in your child’s distress, especially if it activates your own unprocessed experiences,” says Previdi. “Meditation can help parents stay grounded in those high-stakes moments, so they can respond rather than react.”

Not only that, but when you are a busy parent, making time to meditate on your own is a healthy self-care option, an opportunity to balance emotions and make time for self-reflection.

But if you choose to meditate with your kids, there are benefits even its not an entirely relaxing experience. First off, one-on-one time together signals to your child that improving your and their mental health is a group project.

“You’re telling them, ‘I can hold this with you,’” Previdi says. “That’s a powerful message for a child, especially one who struggles with dysregulation.”

Lastly, although meditation can’t completely eliminate chaos from a busy household, but “it can create little islands of calm where connection and healing can grow,” Previdi shares.

Challenges of Meditating with Kids

You might be thinking that kids aren’t known to be good at sitting still for long periods of time, so how could this work? When it comes to meditating with kids, you just he to go with the flow and embrace the chaos. A few minutes of calm is better than nothing.

“It’s normal for kids to wiggle, complain, or say they hate it—that’s often their way of saying: This feels unfamiliar or hard to do right now,” Previdi says.

How to make meditation more kid-friendly

Her recommendation is not to fight or try to control their inability to sit still and be quiet. Instead, invite play, and make meditation a physical, kid-centered experience.

“Make it tactile: breathing with a pinwheel, blowing bubbles slowly, tracing their fingers while breathing in and out,” Previdi suggests. “Movement-based mindfulness (like yoga or walking meditation) can also be more engaging than sitting.”

Dr. Cetnar agrees that forcing kids to be perfectly still or totally focused should not be your goal here.

“Try to keep it light and fun,” she recommends. “Use visuals (like a glitter jar), movement (like stretching or yoga), or short activities (even one minute is enough to start).”

Tips for Getting Started

Ready to get started? Dr. Cetnar shared five tips for starting a meditation routine with your kids:

Start small. One or two minutes is long enough for small kids.Let them he a choice. Consider asking questions like, “Do you want to try a breathing game or listen to a quiet story?”Model it yourself. Kids are more likely to meditate if they see you doing it.Strive for consistency, not perfection. A short routine before sleep or after school can help your kiddo build the habit without too much pressure.Let it go. If your kid isn’t into meditating on a particular day, that’s fine. Think of meditation as a skill your child can come back to when they need it most.