children’s meditation

 

Important of Children’s Meditation

children's meditation

Children’s Meditation

Have you ever heard about children’s meditation?  You might wonder why children need it.

From an early age, children’s brains become sensitive to stimuli as electronic devices are exposed to increased exposure. (It depends on the parents, some give phones from 0~1 years old, while others expose  devices from 5 years old)   Of course, it has the advantage of activating the brain by being exposed to electronic devices early. However, the stimulated brain can also lead to difficulties in personality formation.  For example, if a child uses electronic devices such as phones, PCs, and Tables for too long(more than 2 hours). It can lead to a lack of self-regulation and concentration. This is because, as a child gets used to fast and strong stimuli, the child easily loses interest without them. In addition, if the child gets too used to electronic devices, the child can have difficulty making relationships with others.

children's meditation

How to Reduce digital device exposure for children?

So, how can children be less affected by devices? Of course, smart parents adjust the time on their electronic devices or delay access to them so that they are less affected. However, if children have already started using electronic devices, it is harder than you think to reduce using devices time. Then, an alternative to developing their emotions and self-control is meditation and mindfulness.  As you know, meditation really helps to improve the brain

Here is an interesting experiment. In 2016, there was a study related to children’s meditation.  In this study, the researcher conducted a separate experiment on 7-8-year-old healthy children, with and without meditation for eight weeks. The group who meditated reduced the level of anxiety, impulse, and oppositional. Furthermore, cognitive problems and hyperactivity figures also improved. Based on this result, children’s meditation and mindfulness training can help for ADHD symptoms. Not only that, there are positive effects on children. For the children who conducted mindfulness, their social skills improved, and socializing with friends, meta-cognition also improved.

children's meditation

When is the right age to starting meditation?

Now, based on the research, mindfulness is really helpful for children then, at what age should I start meditating?

Of course, the degree of development varies depending on the children’s environment and physical characteristics, but you can do it from the age of six.

This is because from this period, it is a time to understand personal feelings, to recognize others’ feelings, and to gradually establish relationships with others. Especially from this time on, my vocabulary has improved and I start to get interested in various vocabulary and descriptions. So if they develop how to do mindfulness by using words or tools, their imagination and vocabulary will improve even more. Furthermore, their self-regulation and attention will increase. At this time, rather than forcing a child to sit down, I should proceed this training method comfortably through play so that children do not get bored and enjoy it. Especially, it is also a way to keep the time short at first and then increase the time later.

children's meditation

How to form meditation habits for children?

In the aforementioned study of child meditation and mindfulness, it conducted similarly.

The experiment, which lasted for eight weeks, was conducted for three days, nine minutes each in the first week, and increased it to three times a week, 12 minutes each in the second week, 15 minutes in the third week, and 18 minutes in the fourth week, before increasing it to 30 minutes in the eighth week. If children start to enjoy meditation once, and there is no pressure to meditate, I think this is the way to increase their time. Also, meditation is a really good habit in life, so doing 10 minutes three days a week rather than doing 30 minutes once a week helps form habits, and it is easy for children to adapt.

children's meditation

In Short

To sum up, These days, the keywords meditation and self-mindfulness are hot topics. As technology advances day by day, our lives have become richer and more convenient. However, there are many times when our mind and heart easily get lost in something else and we lose ourselves. I think it is especially important to teach children these days, who are exposed to electronic devices from a young age, how to control themselves and meet themselves from an early age.

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 reference from

 Mindfulness-Oriented Meditation for Primary School Children: Effects on Attention and Psychological Well-Being 

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