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Mental health and mindfulness

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Mindfulness for Children: Fun, Effective Ways to Strengthen Mind, Body, Spirit. Mindfulness has an extraordinary capacity to build a strong body, mind and spirit in ourselves as adults, as well as in our children.

Mindfulness for Children: Fun, Effective Ways to Strengthen Mind, Body, Spirit

Science has told us that it can help to protect against stress, anxiety, depression, illness and pain, ease the symptoms of autism and ADHD, improve academic performance and social relationships, as well as expand the capacity to experience positive emotions. Mindfulness is about stepping back and seeing thoughts and feelings come and go, without judgement, but with a relaxed mind, fully focussed on the present moment. Children are wonderfully present in what they do, but as life picks up speed, the capacity to experience that calm, strengthening stillness can become more difficult to access. The sooner we can encourage the little people in our lives towards mindfulness, the greater their capacity for mindful presence will be. A regular mindful practice will ensure that existing neural connections are strengthened and new ones established. BETLS in action. KidsMatter%20observation%20and%20reflection%20chart%20portrait 0.

This child might be experiencing mental health difficulties … now what? Good mental health is vital for learning and life.

This child might be experiencing mental health difficulties … now what?

Just like physical health, it changes over time and according to different contexts. Research shows we can identify mental health problems in early childhood and being aware of and responding to early signs that may indicate a potential difficulty can make a difference. It can help ensure children receive the help they need before problems get worse. Identifying mental health difficulties A child’s behaviour is often what first triggers our concerns about their mental health and wellbeing.

Externalising or ‘acting out’ behaviours are usually observable and relatively easy to detect e.g. disruptive, impulsive, angry or hyperactive behaviours. Component Four of the KidsMatter Framework provides a list of signs for babies, toddlers and preschoolers that may indicate a child in your care requires further support Deciding to seek help Frequency – How often does the behaviour happen? Sharing information with families Further information Find: 13 kids books to spark conversations about empathy.

Lately, it seems like every other day, we turn on the news or open up our social media to find that another tragedy has occurred.

13 kids books to spark conversations about empathy

Each time we’re faced with these events, we may be overcome with sadness, frustration, and hopelessness. But in these times, it’s important to have conversations with the children around us about inclusion and empathy. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. It’s what helps us connect to other humans, and what makes us better humans. You may be surprised to learn that empathy isn’t an inborn trait, but rather one that must be learned – preferably during early childhood.

According to expert Michele Borba, author of Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World, empathy is not something that is taught through lecturing. There are many ways to instill empathy. A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Hey, Little Ant by Phillip M. The Sneetches by Dr. Download Me on the App Store. Hair straighteners in the home corner. Is this what Froebel intended? - The Spoke – Early Childhood Australia's Blog. In the course of my work I am often in a wide variety of early learning care and education services and I am generally in awe of the ways that Educators reflect in their curriculum designs, many of the founding theories and tenets that we hold to be true and are still reflected in contemporary practice everyday.

Hair straighteners in the home corner. Is this what Froebel intended? - The Spoke – Early Childhood Australia's Blog

Recently however I have had my own biases about what constitutes enriching learning environments challenged by the addition of hair straighteners into the dramatic play environment, which I have now observed on three different occasions. Is this what Fredrick Froebel, the founder of the Kindergarten, intended when he encouraged Educators to use real and authentic tools? Early learning environments are reflective of philosophies, values and beliefs and these ultimately convey key messages to children and families.

So what messages to the inclusion of these types of props into dramatic play spaces give? “Real experiences are the subject matter of the Kindergarten curriculum. 8 Ways to Teach Mindfulness to Kids  We know mindfulness is good for us.

8 Ways to Teach Mindfulness to Kids 

Mindfulness allows us to be present in our parenting, choosing a skillful response, instead of succumbing to our visceral reactions. Mindfulness is also good for our kids. There is an emerging body of research that indicates mindfulness can help children improve their abilities to pay attention, to calm down when they are upset and to make better decisions. In short, it helps with emotional regulation and cognitive focus. Do I even need to ask if you want that for your kids?

So where do we start? Establish your own practice. Keep it simple. Check your expectations. The purpose of teaching mindfulness to our children is to give them skills to develop their awareness of their inner and outer experiences, to recognize their thoughts as “just thoughts,” to understand how emotions manifest in their bodies, to recognize when their attention has wandered, and to provide tools for impulse control.

Don’t force it.