Kids Meditation
Following information is a guide for guiding small kids who are not trained in meditation before, and who are of 3-9 years age (with some tips for toddlers also).
Kids meditation must be different from meditation for grown ups.
They, usually, do not have the advanced vocabulary related to the mind and the world, but have pretty good vocabulary related to their body. Therefore, the easiest meditation for kids is body scanning and relaxation.
They do not have the perseverance to observe their impulses and not react to mental and external distractions, especially, if they are in some unusual or uncomfortable posture. Therefore, the best posture for small kids is laying in the bed.
Prolonged meditation is not an optimal option. If a child can concentrate for 15 minutes, it is good. Never force a child to meditate, nor make meditation an obligatory part of child’s routine. It is important that the child relates meditation practice to pleasure and calmness, not to obligation and frustration. If a child does not want to meditate, but wants to be present with you, just be present and calm with him, listen deeply without reacting, and after some time you both will naturally transit into the meditative state.
One of the best time for small kids to meditate is right before sleep in the bed. This will not only train the child to be observant, concentrated, calmer, but will improve his sleep.
For untrained small kids it is hard to contemplate an open question, to inquire deeper. Look at the picture above. Asking a child open question is like asking a small duckling to lead everyone somewhere. That would end up in chaos and irritation. Therefore, lead the attention of the child as mommy duck leads her ducklings, be precise and tell him what to observe at this very moment.
When a child is trained a bit, you can start leading his attention not only through body, but also through some very simple and clearly answerable questions about events that happened during the day, for example, asking: “Who was your best friend today?”, or “What have you eaten for the breakfast?”, or “Was the sky cloudy or clear today?”, or “Whom would you like to thank and for what today?” Do not ask the child questions about something provoking, irritating, saddening, because that thought will spin in his mind long after the meditation and make him feel bad.
A particularly concentrating question is: “What do you do now?”. If the child did not get it, repeat it calmly several times, with your own full mental presence in this moment.
When guiding kids, guide must be extremely present in the moment. Small kids are extremely sensitive to guide’s own concentration or distraction, much more than grown ups are. If a child senses that guide is not concentrated, he will disengage very quickly and it will be much harder to get him back into concentration.
Guiding meditation is a very good way to improve connection with a child on a deep level. Being mentally fully present with the child is the best gift to him. It is also a very good meditation practice for the guide himself.
Also, some points on training concentration of toddlers and kids younger than 3 years: be fully present when you are with him; train yourself to be calm and radiate calmness to the child; do not use distractive sporadic behavior when you communicate with the child; observe and lead his eyes calmly; smile honestly, but avoid unnecessary grimacing; do not distract him when he is watching at something concentrated; create opportunities for him to observe something interesting with concentration, for example, some animal, or rain, or flower, or view through the window; and do not use phones or other screens in the presence of a small child.