Written by Elizabeth Mulhane
Mindfulness is an important practice for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); it helps them to stay focused and be more aware of their emotions and thoughts. Children with ADHD often struggle with impulsivity, difficulty focusing, and issues with emotional regulation. Mindfulness can help them to learn how to manage these challenges better. By introducing mindfulness into the child’s life, they will be able to develop better emotional control and focus, which will help them in school and other areas of life.
Benefits of Mindfulness for Children with ADHD
Mindfulness can provide children with ADHD with many benefits, such as improved concentration, reduced stress levels, improved self-awareness and emotional regulation, greater empathy for others, and improved impulse control. Practicing mindfulness may also help children with ADHD become more mindful in their daily activities by teaching them how to pay attention to the present moment and reduce distractions. Additionally, mindfulness can improve the children’s ability to think before they act by encouraging them to pause before making decisions or engaging in activities that could be potentially dangerous or harmful.
Introducing Mindfulness
Introducing mindfulness into a child’s life should be done gradually. The first step in introducing mindfulness to a child with ADHD is to explain what mindfulness is in a way that they can understand. Start by talking about how it helps them pay attention to their body, breath, thoughts, and emotions in a calm way.
Mindfulness for children with ADHD – 4 tips to get started.
- Start by introducing simple exercises. These activities should involve a variety of different breathing exercises that help the child relax while focusing on the present moment. For example, have your child close his/her eyes and take slow deep breaths while counting each breath in his/her head. This will help him/her focus their attention on the present moment instead of worrying about what happened in the past or worrying about what could happen in the future. With consistent practice over time, mindful breathing exercises will eventually become easier for your child as he/she develops a greater sense of awareness and control over his/her emotions and thoughts.
- Next, try introducing mindful meditation to your child through the practice of guided visualizations and body scans. This will help your child become more familiar with mindfulness meditation practices while at the same time creating an enjoyable experience!
- Make sure you set aside time each day for your child to spend a few minutes practicing mindfulness activities such as breathing exercises; relaxation exercises; a loving kindness meditation; or mindful brushing, etc, both with you and on their own so that they can build up good habits over time and start seeing the benefits of being mindful on a regular basis.
- Encourage your child to take breaks that include deep breathing, throughout the day when feeling overwhelmed or stressed out – this gives them moments for themselves before getting distracted by stressors again!
Download our Mindful Brushing Star Chart below
Exploring Different Types of Mindfulness Exercises
In addition to basic meditation exercises, there are many other types of mindful activities available for them as well, such as yoga poses that require focus on balance; Flow Form exercises that also introduce them to the various ways the body can move; visual imagery exercises; gratitude practices. These types of exercise help increase self-awareness. Activities might also include mindful colouring; tracing; drawing; or looking at a picture book full of different images and asking your child what he/she sees in each one. Books like Where’s Wally, where the child needs to search a busy page to locate certain images are great ways to increase mindful focus in a fun way.
As your child grows in their ability to practice the various mindfulness activities consider introducing more complex mindfulness practices like walking meditation which requires your child to walk slowly while focusing on every step taken; this is a highly beneficial exercise because it encourages heightened awareness while providing physical activity at the same time!
Mindful eating activities are also a fun way to enjoy mindfulness. This can also encourage a lifetime of healthy eating habits. Lastly explore relaxing sounds such as music or nature sounds which promote relaxation as well as a heightened sense of presence within one’s body & mind.
Making Mindfulness Part of Everyday Life
Once your child has learned some basic principles of mindfulness through practice sessions it is important that you make an effort to incorporate mindful moments into their everyday life whenever possible; this can range from simple tasks such as taking slow deep breaths after feeling overwhelmed or frustrated all the way up to more complex activities like attending a weekly yoga class; or Flow Form session for further exploration & development! Or, it can be as simply as practicing mindful brushing twice daily; gratitude for mealtimes; and a loving kindness meditation before bed. You might also begin teaching your child what it means to be a compassionate person; or what a non-judgemental attitude means. Additionally using positive reinforcement when practicing mindful moments can really help motivate your child & create positive associations between mindfulness & good feelings which can only benefit him/her in the long term! For example, you might use a star chart to track their mindful brushing progress.
Conclusion
Incorporating mindfulness into a child’s life, when they suffer from ADHD is an important step towards helping him/her gain greater emotional regulation skills and increased focus throughout various situations. There are several different ways you can introduce mindfulness into your child’s life including basic meditation exercises, exploring different types of mindful activities such as yoga poses or visual imagery exercises, walking meditation where your child focuses on each step taken during walks outside together & exploring relaxing sounds such music & nature sounds! Making sure you positively reinforce good behaviors whenever possible is also very helpful during the process so don’t hesitate to reward small successes when you see them happening! With consistent practice over time these techniques will become second nature & offer great relief from any symptoms associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Please contact Elizabeth Mulhane @mindfulsmiles@gmail.com to learn more about mindfulness for children with ADHD.
14 Breathing Exercises for Children – Free Printable (kotusrising.com)
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