Everyone can benefit from the routine of meditation and it’s ability to help us to feel comfortable as we experience the highs and lows of life. Kids in particular benefit from the meditation as a tool to learn how to regulate their emotions. Emotional regulation for kids can look different for different children depending on their age, activities, friends, school, and family. But regardless of your child’s experiences, they will benefit from using emotional regulation meditations for kids, which can help them to concentrate on their emotions and better understand their feelings. Siddha Meditate app offers kids guided meditations designed for their curiosity and changing temperaments.
Table Of Content
- Can meditation help with my kid’s emotional regulation?
- What do kids say about meditation?
- Here are 3 key moments to help children understand and learn this skill
- How mindfulness meditation teaches kids to regulate their emotions?
- How do we teach self-regulation skills?
- Meditate and learn together
- In a nutshell…
- FAQ about Teach Kids Emotional Regulation with Meditation
Can meditation help with my kid’s emotional regulation?
Yes! Meditation is one of the best ways to help people of all ages focus on how they’re really feeling by providing a space that helps to redirect the mind to the present moment. Even though the image of meditation, especially to kids, can be one of inactivity and calmness, meditation can be as active as you make it and can help people in both calm and excited mental states.
What do kids say about meditation?
Kids who meditate understand it as a tool to manage their emotions. Meditation for kids can help them to build a connection between their mind and body and teach kids how the body is impacted by the thoughts and feelings in the mind. Emotional regulation for kids is possible with mediation. In a video created by Julie Bayer Salzman and Josh Salzman, kids report on their experiences with emotional regulation meditations for kids. A boy says that, “when I need to calm down, I take deep breaths,” and a girl reports that during meditation, “my brain like slows down and I feel more calm, and then I’m like ready to talk.”
Here are 3 key moments to help children understand and learn this skill:
1. Meditate in the car
Have a long road trip or drive to school? Help kids to reduce their anxiety of travel or the school day ahead by playing a meditation for them as you drive. Meditation can give you relief from endless cycle of “are we there yet” and a productive break from the endless loop of Kids Bop or Baby Shark, giving your child a tool when facing challenges.
2. Practicing while coming down from excitement
After your child leaves or approaches the end of a birthday party, field trip, movie, or brand new experience, meditation can take the pressure off the transition between excitement and sadness. Meditation acts as a great buffer between the enthusiasm of new experiences and the sameness of daily life.
3. Meditation and kids’ mental health
A great way integrate meditation is to use it to help kids begin to understand their mental health and check in with themselves. When kids feel anxiety over their performance in school, sports games, or musical recitals, meditation can be a great way for kids to prepare for these events by helping them to visualize success and work through the feeling of stress.
Exam Stress Relief is an emotional regulation meditation for kids class that prepares kids of all ages for the anxiety and stress they may encounter in their exams. Siddha Meditate offers parents with the opportunity to schedule classes in preparation for their kids quizzes, exams and even standardized tests as soon as they know these assessments are coming. With Siddha Meditate, parents have a clear path to prepare for and help their kids prepare for the most stressful parts of school and to succeed and overcome.
How mindfulness meditation teaches kids to regulate their emotions?
Meditation can use our ability to focus on the sensation and experience of breath. In meditation, we ask our brains to concentrate on our body, thoughts, experiences, or surroundings. Both of these processes are centered in the present moment, freeing thought cycles from the emotions of the past or those we expect to face in the future.
During meditation, you notice different feelings coming and going in your mind. But by staying calm and focused, you let those feelings pass without holding onto them. An emotional regulation meditation for kids can help kids learn emotional regulation with simple breathing tools. This way, meditation helps you learn to manage your emotions and stay in control, which is super helpful for kids!
Teach emotional regulation for kids with the senses
Kids may notice that their bodies change in reaction to their emotional states. For example, when they are happy they feel their faces form smiles, and when they feel angry they may feel themselves form fists to react to their emotion. Meditation can help kids understand that there is a connection between how they feel and how their body reacts and can start to self regulate their bodies to get through challenging emotions.
Meditation can alleviate pain by helping the brain to shift concentration from the pain and on the task of meditation, so if your child feels upset about physical pain, mediation is a great way to teach them to get through both the pain and the frustration. Meditative helps us all take on the good and bad of life.
Teaching meditation in happy and sad moments
It can be transformative for your child’s mental health to give them the tools to navigate all situations that require emotional regulation with meditation. Whether you are preparing your child to go to a happy place like the park, children’s museum, movie theatre, a favorite restaurant, or trampoline park or a sad place like the doctor’s or dentist’s office, meditation beforehand makes all the difference. Emotional regulation meditations for kids are helpful regardless of the situation, especially because every moment with kids can bring a different emotional wave or spurt of laughter.
How do we teach self-regulation skills?
Self-regulation is the essential skill of managing the brain, especially helping you to understand and navigate your feelings, thoughts, instincts, and the actions that these feelings, thoughts, and instincts cause. Emotional regulation with meditation is wonderful way to learn for yourself and teach your kids self-regulation.
Teaching self-regulation with deep breathing
Meditation is a great way for kids to learn about and practice deep breathing. Kids meditation instructors often begin meditation by asking your child to focus on their breath and sometimes introduce them to new ways to practice breathing and concentrating on their breath. Remind your kid that they can use deep breathing in any situation.
Teaching emotional regulation and self-regulation as a meditation routine
Emotional regulation meditations for kids can become a habit in your child’s life that helps them to stay in control of their feelings and express and balance their emotions in the long term. Structure five minute meditations into their daily routine to teach them self-regulation over time.
Meditate and learn together
Establishing meditation as a habit in your life and within your home can build kids understanding of meditation even before they begin their meditation journey. Furthermore, when you understand the benefits of meditation, you can better understand how it will teach emotional regulation. Understanding a habit of meditation empowers you to advocate for your kid’s meditation habit. Emotional regulation meditation for kids can be made easier with kid classes from Siddha Meditate app, which offer kids the opportunity to use breath work and visualization, tools that are helpful for kids and adults alike.
To build a routine of emotional regulation meditation for kids in your children’s weekly schedule, practice mediation as a family. Having a weekend morning meditation routine where you all get together and spend 15 minutes practicing the same meditation can create a community of mediators in your family. Emotional regulation with meditation can be a great way to help all family members connect to each other and their feelings, and help everyone to experience the many benefits of meditation. Our Building Resilience through Mindfulness emotional regulation meditation for kids class is a great class for families to practice together and opportunity to unite over a shared goal of increased awareness of emotions.
In a nutshell…
This article reports on how to use Siddha Meditate app classes to support your children’s learning about emotional regulation for kids. It provides tips for when, where, and how kids can use meditation and explores frameworks for teaching emotional regulation to children. With meditation, all children benefit from a focus on calmness, by slowing down their busy minds. Emotional regulation with meditation is possible for your child today!
FAQ about Teach Kids Emotional Regulation with Meditation
Can meditation help with emotional regulation for kids?
Yes. Even though the image of meditation, especially to kids, can be one of inactivity and calmness, meditation can be as active as you make it and can help people in both calm and excited mental states.
How do I teach my child emotion regulation skills?
Teaching emotional regulation to kids involves providing tools and practices that help them manage their emotions effectively. Start with simple mindfulness techniques, such as guided meditations or deep breathing exercises, which are easy for kids to follow. Emotional regulation for kids is also supported by encouraging them to recognize the connection between their feelings and bodily reactions. Use resources like Siddha Meditate’s guided meditations to introduce a structured routine that integrates emotional regulation meditation into their daily lives.
How Mindfulness teaches kids to regulate their emotions?
Meditation can use our ability to focus on the sensation and experience of breath. In meditation, we ask our brains to concentrate on our body, thoughts, experiences, or surroundings. Both of these processes are centered in the present moment, freeing thought cycles from the emotions of the past or those we expect to face in the future.
What is self-regulation in child development?
Self-regulation in child development is the ability for kids to manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations. It helps children navigate challenges, control impulses, and respond to their feelings in a balanced way. Through practices like emotional regulation meditation for kids, self-regulation can be nurtured by teaching them to pause, reflect, and use tools such as deep breathing or visualization. These techniques empower children to handle stress, excitement, and other emotions effectively, fostering their overall emotional well-being.
