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| Courtesy elemenoperica morguefile.com |
Meditation may be considered beneficial for kids eight years of age and above. The eighth birthday is something of a crucial crossroads where the child hovers between the last vestiges of babyhood and the first light of pre-pubescence. What's unique about this stage is that the physical growth is much faster than the mental and emotional, leaving the child unfocussed, emotional, and sometimes unable to cope with all the changes that have begun to take over the body.
This stage may be marked by tantrums due to various causes, outbursts, and random acts of rebellion that carries on well into teenage and can be a trying time for parents and teachers. This is also the time that a child requires unqualified love and firm parenting. Most parents are at a loss as to how to handle their growing child during this time and tend to let things just fall where they may. Meditation is the perfect tool to give the child some control and confidence over the situation and her life.
How to Meditate
Meditation techniques for kids are of course, not the sort you'd find in a class for adults. While it may be helpful to enrol your kids in a meditation class, it may not be viable due to a number of reasons. What you can do, is teach him a few basics that help calm and soothe the hyperactivity.
The first step would be to teach your child to pay attention to her breathing. Bring to her notice how her breathing varies with her emotions, faster when she is angry or excited, slower when she is relaxed, and even with longer pauses when a person is sleeping.
Once you are certain your child has become aware of breath, it is time to teach him how to control it. This is easily achieved by holding and letting go, taking long breaths and letting them out completely. When doing this, it is important that your eight year old not retain the breath for too long. She may draw long breaths and release them slowly, but she is not to retain it within for long as taught in adult meditation classes.
Next, teach your child to pay attention to his thoughts. Ask him to notice how many thoughts he has had in the past five minutes. Make a game of this and actually jot down the thoughts that come and go within a stipulated time. Use a stop clock to make it interesting. But drive home the fact that the point is not to see who has the most number of thoughts, but the opposite. Gradually ask him to think as little as possible, till eventually he is able to have thought-free moments.
For the final step, ask your child to count back from five, four, three, two, one, without any thought coming in to her head as she counts. If a thought comes in at four, go back to five, and begin again. To begin with, it's okay to count out aloud and focus on the number being articulated. As she masters the technique of counting and focussing exclusively on the numbers with no thought entering her mind, she can count mentally.
Benefits of Meditation for Kids
This meditation technique helps kids breathe calmly, focus on their breathing, and clear their heads of all thought, thereby increasing their mental clarity, memory power, and focus. Once this tool has been mastered, encourage them to use it whenever they need to concentrate, whether it's to do a sum, score a shot, or fall asleep. This is a superb meditation technique to instil confidence and calm in your kids, especially for kids who were prone to throw temper tantrums as toddlers. For some really cool meditation ideas to get your kids started,you might like what they have for you at Meditations4Kids.com .
