i love meditating.

It helps me start the day out right.  There are so many different ways to meditate like using a guided meditation, listening to music or nature, focusing on a phrase, doing a kundalini meditation where you do a movement and focus on a phrase.  I love them all. I am currently listening to Oprah and Deepak’s guided meditation, Success Comes from Within. It helps me feel grounded and gives me something to work on each day.

But did you know kids can meditate too?

When we teach our kids to meditate we will have given them life long tools.  Our society has created a toxic environment for kids causing extreme anxiety and unnecessary pressure.

There were 4 kids in my daughter’s fourth grade class that were diagnosed with anxiety.  The pressure that our kids have to endure is far greater than anything we ever had to handle.

What did I do?  I taught my daughter how to meditate.  Meditation teaches kids to connect with themselves.  It teaches them mindfulness and builds the skills for self awareness and self management. These lead to happier, more resilient kids. It gives them the tools to help them deal with anxious thoughts and life’s pressures. It can also help build self confidence and better focus. Most importantly it teaches them to treat others and themselves with respect. Teaching our kids to meditate is a gift they will have for the rest of their life.

How did I do it? My daughter has an over active mind so getting her to sit still is quite the task. First I found a guided meditation for her where she would be able to use her creativity and imagination as the meditation guided her through a garden. Second I sat down with her on comfy pillows, legs crossed, eyes closed and played a guided meditation. Lastly, when the meditation was completed we talked about what we saw and felt. It was amazing to hear about how she set up her garden and how she saw our dog that passed away running through it.

I was so excited that she was able to sit and meditate that I created a new self guided meditation for kids. My meditation walks the kids through a park with trees and playgrounds. They get to visualize their own images for their park. Lastly, you can talk about what they saw and felt in their park during the meditation.

If you would like to try my kids guided meditation see the Gifts of Love section of my website.

about the author

Keri Collins is a children’s author who helps kids and parents better themselves by making better choices. She blogs about parenting and kids’ issues, and offers plenty of tips and other advice.