Overcoming obstacles in your child's journey to mindfulness

Mindfulness is simple to practice but hard to practice daily.

Children are bound to show a bit of resistance during the initial stages of practising mindfulness. We need to understand that this is normal and almost expected in children. You will often encounter statements like “I didn’t have the time” or “I forgot today.”

For some, these might be valid reasons but for most, they are simply excuses. Valid or not, there are some simple rationales that you can use to overcome such challenges.

If your child is overscheduled and is struggling to prioritize mindfulness, you can teach them how to fit mindfulness into the general tasks of the day.

Tell them that they don’t have to practice mindfulness separately, they could be mindful while brushing their teeth or eating breakfast. This way they don’t “waste” any time and are able to cope with their schedule in a healthier manner.

Some children may simply forget to practice mindfulness daily. You can solve this problem by setting reminders for your child. Perhaps you can place cute sticky notes all around the house.

One of the most common challenges for kids is that they feel mindfulness is not doing anything for them. This discourages them to continue it further.

It is important to explain to children that they won’t see dramatic results within a few days of practising mindfulness. It is a slow process and takes patience.

Also, not every mindfulness practice is made for everyone. Try experimenting with different types of mindfulness with your child to find the one that interests them.

Some children may also fall asleep during practice. In such cases, it is best to first figure out the reason. Is it because they found the practice boring? Or are they simply exhausted?

If they are indeed exhausted, sleeping might actually be good. On the other hand, if they are finding it boring, try using a different exercise and shorten the length of the practice.

Challenges may arise but all these challenges can be tackled by parental support. It is the determination of both the child and parents that will make this journey successful.