Mindfulness – a state of active, open attention to the present. When you’re mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad. Being mindful means paying attention to your thoughts, emotions and sensations at any given moment without trying to change them.
It’s easy for tweens (and adults) to get caught up in their own heads with all the pressures of school and social life. Mindfulness can help reduce stress by allowing kids to step back from their worries so they can respond instead of react when faced with difficult situations. It also improves focus and concentration so kids can better manage their time during homework assignments or tests at school–and make sure they don’t miss out on fun activities because they’ve been studying too much!
Benefits of Mindfulness for Tweens
1. Reduced stress
Stress can be a major problem for tweens and teens, who are often under pressure to perform in school and excel at extracurricular activities while also dealing with the physical and emotional changes of puberty. Mindfulness can help kids cope with these pressures by teaching them how to relax their bodies, calm their minds, and focus on what’s happening right now without getting caught up in thoughts about the past or future.
You may also like to read: How to take care of Mental health of Tweens
2. Improved focus and concentration
Mindfulness practices help kids develop a stronger ability to concentrate on one thing at a time–a skill that will come in handy when you’re trying to get homework done! They also help kids become more aware of how they’re feeling so they can recognize when they need a break from studying or playing sports (or whatever else). This makes it easier for them not
3. Better decision making skills
When we’re mindful, we make decisions based on facts rather than emotions or impulses–which means less impulsive behavior!
Mindful Activities for Tweens
- Yoga
- Breathing exercises
- Meditation
- Journaling/writing letters to yourself or others
Here are some tips for Introducing Mindfulness to Tweens
Mindfulness can be a powerful tool for tweens, but it’s important to introduce the concept in a way that makes sense to them. Here are some tips:
Start small
It’s best not to bombard your child with information or ask him or her to do too much at once. Instead, start with one or two practices that feel natural and make sense for you as a family–maybe it’s taking time out at night before bedtime to talk about what happened during the day, or sitting down together over breakfast each morning instead of rushing off into school without talking about anything important (like how much homework was assigned).
Make it fun!
Mindfulness doesn’t have to be boring; there are lots of ways you can make it more enjoyable for both yourself and your child by adding activities like yoga poses into the mix (or even just taking walks outside) while practicing mindfulness together throughout the day.
About the Author
This is a guest post by Jaishree Nenwani. Jaishree is an author of Tiny Habits Massive Results.
Other than that, she is also a blogger writing about Self Improvement, Personal Growth and everything in life that brings happiness.
Featured Image by Freepik
