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Mindfulness for Kids: Benefits, How to Practice, and More

The Benefits of Mindfulness for Kids

At its core, mindfulness is all about awareness. It means being fully present and noticing what’s happening around us. Most of us practice mindfulness in daily meditation or yoga practices that use our breath or our senses to keep us in the present moment. By staying present, both adults and children are able to enjoy a wide variety of short-term and long-term benefits.

Benefits of Mindfulness

While mindfulness can be extremely beneficial to adults, it can also bring a wide range of benefits to kids. Here’s how:

Strengthens Cognitive Skills

Cognitive functions such as organizational skills, attention spans, and remembering details can be strengthened by repetitive mindfulness practices. In fact, one study conducted over an 8-week period showed that a regular mindfulness program helped children better focus on the task at hand while also learning how to regulate their emotions.

Improves Emotional Health

In the modern day, stress, anxiety, and depression all seem to be commonplace. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Daily mindfulness practices can actually ease symptoms of anxiety and depression, improving overall self-esteem and emotional health. This is accomplished by teaching kids how to be present, and to reflect on their emotions in order to better understand them.

Improves Social Skills

By improving their cognitive skills and their emotional health, mindfulness can also help our children when interacting with their peers. Mindfulness allows for greater empathy and compassion, helping kids better understand the people they interact with on a daily basis.

How Kids (And Parents) Can Practice Mindfulness

Clearly, a daily mindfulness practice can be a great help to our kids, but how do we get started? Thankfully, there are a few ways you can go about it:

  • Download a meditation app: Many popular apps such as Headspace or Calm offer special meditation plans for children.
  • Buy a book on children’s mindfulness: In addition to apps, there are also many books available to teach parents and kids how to practice mindfulness.
  • Practice yoga: Meditation is the most common form of mindfulness, but it’s not the only form! Yoga is a great way to practice mindfulness and may be preferable for kids who struggle when sitting still. You can find various yoga practices for kids on YouTube, like this one here.
  • Practice Breathing Buddies: This is a breathing exercise uses stuffed animals to teach kids how to focus on their breath.

At The Zoo Factory, we believe a daily meditation or mindfulness practice can greatly benefit all children. So, if you’re searching for a breathing buddy, look through our inventory to find yours today!

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How to Use “Breathing Buddies” to Encourage Mindfulness

How to Use Breathing Buddies to Encourage Mindfulness

Practicing mindfulness can be a real lifesaver. After all, our lives are hectic, so just taking a few minutes to slow down and pay attention to our surroundings can make a world of difference. This is true for adults, but it’s also true for kids. Encouraging our kids to be mindful will help them deal with stress today and later on. We can do this through one simple technique: breathing buddies. 

How to practice “breathing buddies” 

Breathing buddies, also known as Teddy Bear Belly Breathing, is rather simple. It’s about focusing on your breath by placing a teddy bear on your belly. Here are the steps you and your child should follow: 

  1. Lie down on your back and place a stuffed animal on your belly. 
  2. Inhale through your nose for three seconds, focusing on how the stuffed animal rises as you breathe in. 
  3. Exhale for four seconds, this time focusing on how the stuffed animal falls as you breathe out. 
  4. Repeat for at least another few minutes. You can increase how long you practice over time. 

What are the benefits? 

Having your kids practice mindfulness, even just for a few minutes a day, can have a variety of health benefits. Some may see the improvements right away, leaving the breathing buddies practice with an added sense of calm. Others may see a difference over time. Regular mindfulness practice has been proven to decrease anxiety, stress, and depression, while enhancing self-esteem. It can also improve cognitive skills such as memory, organization, and attention span. And these benefits aren’t just reserved for kids. By joining the breathing buddies’ practice, you’ll experience these improvements yourself. 

If you’re searching for a breathing buddy to join you during your next mindfulness practice, then look no further than The Zoo Factory. We have a variety of stuffable animals for you and your child to choose from, so take a look through our inventory or contact us with any questions today!