• Published by Aurel Saragih  

This fast-paced era demands not only us to do everything in just 5 minutes, but also our children, parents. Not only on getting information, our children are also required to quickly solve the problems they have. It is also common that they lose focus and seem to be in a hurry. When they have too many things to do, they may feel anxious and worried that their work will not be completed on time.

Especially for teenagers who all want to be instant, it's important to practice the ability to stay calm even in a precarious situation. What can you do at home to practice mindfulness?

Focus the body and mind on the breath!

When breathing with a regular and long rhythm, the parasympathetic nerves will work to calm us down. When our teenagers seem nervous about the exam they will face that day, then invite them to do a simple breathing exercise by exhaling five times in a row. Then ask them to say affirmations like “I can take the test today!” or any positive affirmations that can make them more excited to go to school.

Use existing body senses!

Our body has seven senses or senses which are rarely used mindfully. For example, the sense of taste. Try to pay attention to what our children do while eating. Definitely playing cellphones by scrolling TikTok or maybe watching YouTube. Lack of mindfulness when eating makes children not feel the full taste of food, not realize that they are full or still hungry, and even makes children forget about their food.

When eating, invite children to sit together at the dinner table without holding any gadgets or objects that accompany them while eating. Likewise, with parents, keep any gadgets away from the dinner table. Invite children to just chat about their days. By getting children used to sitting at the dinner table with their parents and siblings, children will also appreciate the hunger they feel and give them a break from gadgets. In the beginning, it must be quite difficult because eating without watching something might make children feel bored, but this must be done at least four times a week in order to train children to become mindful eaters.

Invite children to thank each after doing certain activities

The speed with which children move from one activity to another makes them forget to appreciate it. As adults, invite children to appreciate what they have gone through that day. Parents can try it from simple things like when eating. Invite the child to thank his mother by saying "thank you for the food, Mom". This will make children more mindful of what they will eat and learn to have gratitude from small things.

Being mindful takes effort and consistency to do so that children can get used to doing it. Children have space to be able to pause from their activities and also appreciate what they are currently doing. What else do you think can be done to train children to be mindful in their daily life?

Reference :

Savitri, W. C., & Listiyandini, R. A. (2017). Mindfulness and psychological well-being in adolescents. Psychohumanities: Journal of Psychological Research, 2(1), 43-59.

Waney, N. C., Kristinawati, W., & Setiawan, A. (2020). Mindfulness and self-acceptance in adolescents in the digital age. Insight: Scientific Journal of Psychology, 22(2), 73-81.

Written by Sarah Aurelia, M.Psi of the BehaviorPals Centre.

Mindfulness in children, mindful child, activities on mindfulness in children

Children 4 Years - 6 Years / 4 Tahun - 6 Tahun / General Health / Kesehatan Umum / Health / Kesehatan / Child not focused on daily activities? Let's Practice Mindfulness!

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