The ABCs of calming practices for you and your kids

We send our children to swimming lessons, and teach them how to read, but what if we taught them how to calm themselves, too?

As with anything in the parenting realm, your children will model your behaviour. Want them to be readers one day? Let them see you read. Want them to play sport? You need to be getting out there yourself and getting sweaty. The same applies to proactively deal with stress. If they see you doing yoga and taking big breaths when you’re angry, they’ll start to do the same. Try your first meditation tonight by saying, “Mommy/Daddy is feeling like I need to be calmer, so I’m going to listen to a meditation story now – want to join me?”

After all, we all know that being calm and mindful in order to relieve stress and tension is critical to our wellness and health. Let’s teach our kids how to do it too, so they are even better equipped to deal with it than we are.

A is for Affirmations

When children are building their identities, they may suffer from issues with self-esteem and confidence (don’t we all?). Teaching them affirmations to say to themselves when they are feeling shaky is one way of showing them the power of positive thinking. This helps them deal better with conflict, in situations where they may be bullied, for example. Saying positive things about themselves out loud has been shown to positively rewire certain parts of their brains. It can make them feel valued, and help them learn how to self-regulate better. Some affirmations for them to try include: “I am brave”; “I am good enough, and “I am strong”.

B is for Breathing

It’s a fundamental part of being alive, yet most adults (and kids) don’t know how to breathe properly. Taking 10 deep, slow breaths can calm you down in any stressful situation, whether you’re sad, angry, or fearful.

C is for Calming Practices

• Yoga: Durban-based personal trainer Jane Kilian teaches kids’ yoga, and she says she’s seen how showing children simple breathing exercises has reaped great benefits. “I had a client who told me that she sent her three-year-old son for timeout recently, and she saw him start to take in bigger breaths in order to calm himself down – as he’d learned to do with me,” says Jane. This simple tool can be used throughout life, and it is something that can be done anywhere, at any time. Kiddies’ yoga is closely linked to teaching children how to breathe, but it also teaches children how to be still – even just for a minute! Besides learning discipline and how to improve their focus, it also increases their strength and flexibility. In addition, it helps children build muscle and to develop the strong core they need for sitting at their desks at school. Most of all, yoga is fun for children as they get to play and express themselves creatively. Kids’ yoga classes are usually designed around a theme such as wild animals, under the sea, or in the jungle.
• Meditation: “I truly believe that if every child in the world was taught to meditate frequently, we’d be bringing up a calmer generation and there would be less hatred, less crime, and better climate control,” says Jane. “It would literally change the world.” The best way to start doing this is together, as a family. Jane recommends downloading the Insight Timer app, which has a special kids section with amazing stories that aren’t like the meditations you’re probably imagining. These “listening stories” range from 1 to 20-minute meditations that can instantly calm your children down, as well as entertain them.