Calming Tools for Anxious Children
Here are three mindful practices that may help ease your child’s anxious feelings, while nurturing their imagination and self-confidence:
1. Watch the trains (but don’t hop aboard). This practice allows even very young children to watch their thoughts come and go, like trains in a station. “Like our train of thoughts, we want to notice the train, acknowledge it, or wave to it, and then let it go,” explains Susan Katz. Try it with her 5-minute guided practice.
2. Make friends with a tree. Children can think about the strong, resilient qualities of a tree, saying the affirmation: “I am me. I am safe. I am strong. I am whole.” This 5-minute practice from Heather Hawk Feinberg celebrates how we all have beautiful gifts to share.
3. Walk it out! Getting out in nature reduces screen time and supports physical and mental health for all ages. Plus, mindful walking can be curious, creative, and even downright silly. “Find a reason to be a spy or scout, a Ninja, a tracker…and watch how attention and awareness shift right into the present,” Willard suggests. Here are six ideas for kids (and teenagers) to rustle up some mindfulness during your next outdoor adventure.