Susan Kaiser Greenland and Annaka Harris, Teaching Mindfulness to Kids

Mindfulness at Home

Teaching mindfulness at home involves parents modeling behavior and integrating practices into daily life. Susan Kaiser Greenland emphasizes the importance of parents developing their own mindfulness practice to intuitively guide their children. She suggests using everyday objects like a snow globe to help children understand and regulate their emotions 1. Annaka Harris adds that modeling mindfulness in front of children can naturally spark their curiosity and interest 2.

The most important thing we can do for our children is have a practice ourselves.

--- Annaka Harris

Creating small community groups for mindfulness practice can also support families in fostering these skills together.

   

Mindfulness Games

Games offer a playful approach to teaching mindfulness to children, making the learning process engaging and practical. Susan Kaiser Greenland describes using simple activities like breathing exercises and games with glitter balls to help children focus and self-regulate 3. These games are designed to teach mindfulness without explicitly using the term, integrating values like caring and connection 4.

It's a way of trying to make these practices fun in ways that teach the type of self-regulatory skills that people are often drawn to with mindfulness.

--- Susan Kaiser Greenland

By secularizing these practices, they become accessible to a broader audience, allowing children to learn mindfulness in a fun and inclusive manner.

   

Mindfulness in Schools

Incorporating mindfulness into school curriculums presents both opportunities and challenges. Susan Kaiser Greenland stresses the importance of well-trained teachers to ensure mindfulness is taught with the same rigor as other subjects 5. She highlights the need for careful implementation to avoid concerns about introducing Eastern spirituality into schools 6.

We have to be careful. We're at a point that we have to be very, very careful as far as making sure that the people who are teaching are well trained.

--- Susan Kaiser Greenland

By focusing on secular, research-backed methods, schools can effectively integrate mindfulness practices that benefit students' emotional and cognitive development.