Meditation and mindfulness for kids can be amazing tools when dealing with all those big emotions they have. It gives children a way to stop and reflect on what is going on in the moment, to refocus their energy and take control of their feelings in the moment. This such a great skill for kids to develop because it helps them channel emotions (like anger or fear) from tantrums or aggression into the ability to calm down when they are upset and to make better decisions.
This book is a perfect way to introduce mindfulness and meditation to young children. Keep reading to see how easily this book can help children learn to use and understand mindfulness!
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If you are familiar with our blog then you may have seen my review of Good Morning, Yoga awhile back. It is an amazing book that teaches children yoga poses to help them get their day started. It’s truly one of the most popular books on my site. The author of that book, Mariam Gates, is also the author of this new book about mediation and mindfulness for kids.
Mindfulness for Kids – Meditate with Me Book Review
Meditate with Me: A Step-By-Step Mindfulness Journey by Mariam Gates
Meditation does a body good, and can even help kids as young as four or five. This practical guide is gentle, clear, and a pleasure to use. Kids will learn how to focus on their breath, on the sensations in their body, and on the sounds around them to help them relax, settle their busy minds, and understand their emotions.
This book really helps children understand how to consciously recognize their feelings and how their body responds to those feelings. It teaches them that acknowledging their feelings is important and gives them the tools to handle them in a mindful way.
The images in this book are cute and cheerful. They describe the text in detailed ways without being to distracting or taking away from the lessons of meditation. The adorable animal guides help children understand how to do each exercise. I think it also helps them with visualization. We talk about the images and details in the backgrounds, like the clouds or the birds, and then we focus on those things when doing our own meditation work.
My daughter has some mild sensory issues and while she is getting better at managing her emotions as she gets older we do still struggle with meltdowns and anger issues when she is feeling anxious. Large social situations can cause major anxiety for her and it becomes too overwhelming. That usually leads to her lashing out by being mean to her friends or descending into a meltdown. However, this book is helping her understand how she can calm herself down and relax through mindfulness and meditation.
Easy steps to learn meditation with kids
We often say “take a breath” or “calm down” to kids when they are upset but sometimes they can’t just calm themselves, they don’t have the tools yet. Asking them to “take a breath” isn’t really teaching them how to take a calming breath. My daughter once told me that she was taking a breath because her body is “always breathing.” In that moment I realized that I wasn’t really teaching her how to take a calming breath. This book does that. It teaches kids how to take a calming breath and how to refocus their body in a way they can understand easily. Even younger children can follow along and do the mediation steps.
If you are looking for a great book to teach meditation and mindfulness for kids then this is the book for you. It speaks to kids in a way that they understand and teaches them a great set of mindfulness skills. I highly recommend that you add Meditate with Me: A Step-By-Step Mindfulness Journey to your library!
–> Now available in hardcover or for Kindle <–
Interested in yoga for kids, too? Click the image below to learn more about our favorite pose-by-pose yoga book for kids.
Looking for more crafts and activities? Check out our index for 100+ plus kids activities! Find activities by theme, materials, skills, age and much more!
I received a complimentary copy of this book to review. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. See full disclosure policy here.