Our kids get just as stressed out as we do. While they don’t have bills, a demanding boss or a continuously-increasing workload, they do have homework, classmates, teachers, bullies and big emotions. So it helps to have a variety of tools they can use to manage their stressors and regulate their emotions — tools they can take into adolescence and adulthood. Because stress and emotions are part of everyone’s daily life. And because everyone benefits from having healthy coping strategies.
That’s exactly what author and clinical social worker Carla Naumburg, Ph.D, provides in her newest book Ready, Set, Breathe: Practicing Mindfulness with Your Children for Fewer Meltdowns and a More Peaceful Family. In this wise and down-to-earth book, Naumburg features practical and creative strategies for practicing mindfulness at home. She defines mindfulness as “the practice of choosing to pay attention to whatever is happening right here and right now, without judging it or wishing it were different.”
She noted that teaching mindfulness is an ongoing process. She likened mindfulness to a muscle: “the more we use it, the stronger it gets.” Naumburg also stressed the importance of involving your child in the process as much as possible and asking them for their ideas and suggestions.
Below are four wonderful tips from Ready, Set, Breathe on everything from slowing down to paying closer attention.
Play the slow-walking game.
This exercise teaches kids to slow down, which is helpful because most families are more used to rushing and running around.
To continue reading this article, go to: http://psychcentral.com/blog/a...ractice-mindfulness/
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