Mindfulness can boost the quality of our lives in numerous ways.
In today’s rush, we all think too much—seek too much—want too much—and forget about the joy of just being.
– Eckhart Tolle
What does mindfulness do to spark “the joy of just being” that Tolle references? And, how can we teach kids to start benefiting from its practice?
This article delves into both of these questions and includes plenty of activities for you to start using today.
Research confirms that for children, mindfulness can:

Mitigate the effects of bullying (Zhou, Liu, Niu, Sun, & Fan, 2016);
Enhance focus in children with ADHD (Zhang et al., 2016);
Reduce attention problems (Crescentini, Capurso, Furlan, & Fabbro, 2016);
Improve mental health and wellbeing;
Improve social skills when well taught and practiced with children and adolescents.

It’s also important for caregivers and educators to provide age-appropriate mindfulness practices to children.
For example, fostering mindfulness in preschoolers with tools like pictures, objects, food, simple movements, and music, can help them develop an ability to better focus their attention and stay present.
In a study by Flook et al., (2015), kids were asked to engage in an activity called “Belly Buddies”, in which they listened to music while also noticing the sensation of a small tone on their stomachs rising and falling with each breath.
The kids became more attune to their bodies, breath and to the music.
Ultimately, simple activities like these can have long-lasting developmental benefits when practiced regularly.
Want more? We have 25 mindfulness activities designed specifically for children. Plus, they are fun to do.
But, before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Mindfulness Exercises for free. These science-based, comprehensive exercises will not only help you cultivate a sense of inner peace throughout your daily life but will also give you the tools to enhance the mindfulness of your children, students or young clients.