Why you should teach 'mindfulness' to your children

MANILA, Philippines – Did you know that there are some activities, which can improve your child’s physical, emotional and mental performance?

For parents, guiding your child through development can be a formidable task, but with proper practices, your child’s journey for development may just be as easy.

Defining Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a way of being that both adults and children can practice. It may sound complicated, but it really just means awareness. It is the practice of noticing things at the moment, especially those overlooked, such as one’s breathing, feelings, thoughts or actions.

Mindfulness decreases child’s stress and improves child’s capacity for learning

Recently, an article in Time Magazine talked about the benefits of mindfulness on children. It highlighted a study done by the team of Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl, a developmental psychologist at the University of British Columbia. The study’s findings show that children who practiced mindfulness in a four-month period performed better academically, showed more positive social behaviors, were less aggressive, more optimistic and less stressed than those who did not practice it.

In fact, the children who were mindful scored 15% higher in Match than the others. Mindfulness can decrease stress and aggression, but that positively affecting academic learning is a revelation! It makes sense as mindfulness trains the child to silence distractions, be calm and concentrate, thereby heightening their capacity for learning.

Mindfulness has its mutual benefit

Another interesting discovery was that the teachers who participated in the study also experienced a calming effect. Mindfulness is indeed remarkable.

It is important then that we teach mindfulness to our children. But remember, it cannot be taught without first being practiced.

In doing so, we not only nurture a new generation of kinder and more successful individuals, but we also open ourselves to positive transformation.