Issues like bullying, divorce and school related stress are creating unhappy and anxious children. More than half of Britain’s under 11s now suffer from stress at school and one in five suffers from a stress-related disorder.

Teaching your children relaxation techniques like meditation enables them to manage their stress. A tool for life.

Meditation can alleviate anxiety, frustration, fear, anger, restlessness, and many more symptoms. Guided meditations help children develop concentration and imagination as it improves focus and memory

Christiane Kerr, mother of 2 and founder of Calm for Kids teaches yoga and meditation to children. As well as her classes and workshops she has created CDs to help children meditate. Christiane shares her meditation tips with Mumzine.

What benefits can meditation give children?

There are many physical benefits of meditation but one of the biggest benefits is helping children to take time out and get in touch with themselves. I think it is invaluable for  them to learn early on that they have a wealth of inner resources that can help them deal with all sorts of situations.

When is a good age for kids to start practising?

Around three is a good time to start introducing simple relaxation and visualisation exercises.

What’s the best time of day and position to meditate?

In many traditions it’s around 4.30 am but this is not realistic for most families!  Try and find a time when your child is not too tired or distracted. Try and include it in your child’s daily routine. Bedtime is good if your child is not too tired and they tend to get a second wind after bathtime. The ideal position is with the spine straight either lying in savasana or sitting cross legged, however when starting out the most important thing is that your child is physically comfortable.

I find it difficult getting my 4yr old to be still and listen to the CD. How can I help her focus?

Try practising a few quietening yoga postures before you settle down to listen.  You could make it something you do with your child and take time out together to lie down and listen to the CD.  Many children like lavender eye pillows and this does help, particularly if you are listening in the daytime as it blocks out the daylight and aids relaxation.   Your child could snuggle up with their favourite toy to help them relax.   Talk about what she/he  liked about the CD afterwards and how it made her/him feel. It is always helpful for children understand why they are doing something so you could tell her that this can help her sleep better, put any worries aside for a bit, make us feel more calm and happy and teach us how to be quiet and listen to ourselves.

What tips do you have for getting started?

Introduce slowly and set time aside to practice some breath awareness techniques such as buzzing like a bee, hissing like a snake or blowing out imaginery candles.  I always tell children that our breath is our invisible friend here to help us relax. Not all children find it easy to visualise or imagine scenes so help them develop these skills by playing memory games where they have to recall six or seven details of their favourite toy after looking at it for 1 minute. Focus on parts of the body, wiggle the toes and then relax them, move the legs etc…. Moving up the body. Show them a picture of a butterfly and ask them to imagine the butterfly landing on their toes to help them relax and then moving to their legs.

Calm for kids +44 (0) 20 8742 1326