Do you have a child who you think may be struggling with some symptoms of anxiety, depression, or even ADHD? Are you starting to worry about their well-being, how it will affect their future, or how this will affect their school performance? It is so difficult to watch your child struggle and not know how to help them. If you are noticing your concern, you are already on the right path to helping your child.
Mindfulness is a skill that you and your child can start practicing today, right in this very moment. Mindfulness simply means maintaining moment-by-moment awareness of your thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and surrounding environment. It also involves observing, participating fully, being non-judgmental, and concentrating on one thing at a time. I don’t know about you, but in a world full of busyness and go-go-go, I think mindfulness is something that benefits everyone. The benefits of mindfulness specifically for children include reduction of symptoms and building resilience. Being mindful also teaches children how to control their emotions before they are hijacked by them. Teaching your child mindfulness, starts with being a mindful parent. So mom and dad I hope you are ready to learn some new things too! My favorite way to introduce mindfulness for the first time is to start with noticing the breath. Here is your chance to practice right now.
Mindful breathing:
- Bring your awareness to your breathing.
- Continue to breathe in and out just are you are.
- Don’t try to change or modify your breath.
- Just notice it.
- What do you notice? (is it fast, slow, deep, shallow)
- Describe in as much detail as possible what you notice.
Let’s partner together to help your child tackle symptoms of anxiety, depression, and ADHD with mindfulness skills training today. In therapy your child will learn easy, effective, and fun ways to feel better again. We talk, we play, we read books, and we practice skills together. If you aren’t sure if your child would benefit from therapy or if you have spent years in therapy and feel like things haven’t gotten any better, give me a call or email me and let’s chat about how I can help you. For more information about services for children, click here and be sure to jump over to my Meet Cathy page to get to know me better.
Be Well,
Cathy