But first – What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is a meditation practice that begins with paying attention to breathing in order to focus on the present, instead of focusing on worries or concerns, what-ifs and may have-beens.
How can mindfulness help my child?
For children, mindfulness exercises can help them to develop self awareness, to pay better attention and to concentrate. They can help children decrease anxiety, to calm down when upset or feeling out of control of a situation, and it can help them learn to handle overwhelming emotions more calmly.
But why use an app for mindfulness?
These apps include short, developmentally appropriate mindfulness exercises that have been developed for use with children. They are a great tool for teachers and parents (at least those of us who are not meditation experts) to use to guide children through a short meditation or mindfulness/breathing exercise. We are fast becoming big fans.
Dreamy Kids by Chiron Media Group: Includes meditation and guided visualizations that can be combined with relaxing background ambient sounds. The free app includes a very limited number of resources, further programs addressing a range of common childhood issues such as xx are available as individually priced in-app purchases. Ages 5+.
