Mindfulness Express Jr - Blog
This is in no way a replacement for the help of a licensed therapist, councilor or Doctor.
Welcome to our blog!
As someone who has over 20 years of experience working with children of all ages, I have an ever expanding set of mindfulness techniques, tips and tools to help you support your children/students with their Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
Many children live in a state of stress, and they are often very clever at hiding it. They may hide it for a variety of reasons:
How do they show stress:
Sometimes, they need to talk to and work with a licensed professional. As a teacher or parent, it is not your job to play therapist, it is your job to help your children and students to find a strong voice and learn techniques of self care. It takes time and practice, but the younger we can start teaching children about their emotional health, the stronger and happier they will be as adults.
Happy meditating!
As someone who has over 20 years of experience working with children of all ages, I have an ever expanding set of mindfulness techniques, tips and tools to help you support your children/students with their Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).
Many children live in a state of stress, and they are often very clever at hiding it. They may hide it for a variety of reasons:
- Fear of not being listened to
- Fear of being shut down
- Previous attempts at telling a trusted adult fell on deaf ears
- Wanting to please others
- Not wanting to stress already stressed adults in their life
- They do not recognize that they are stressed
- Their feelings have been invalidated, ignored or glossed over in the past
- They do not yet have the vocabulary to express themselves
- They are embarrassed
- They are trying to stay out of the way
- They think that they can deal with it on their own
How do they show stress:
- Eating issues, over or under
- Lethargy
- Escapism behaviors ( Obsessive hours on screen time, hobbies. While hobbies can be a great activity to help them express themselves, hobbies can also turn into a way of escaping their feelings and stress, instead of learning how to speak up for themselves.)
- Leaving the spaces of stress and chaos (Walking out of a room or situations where there is turmoil.)
- Refusing to talk
- Physically closing off their physical space: shutting them selves into a room, consistently folding their arms in front of them or sitting in the fetal position, etc.
- Teeth grinding
- Clenched fists
Sometimes, they need to talk to and work with a licensed professional. As a teacher or parent, it is not your job to play therapist, it is your job to help your children and students to find a strong voice and learn techniques of self care. It takes time and practice, but the younger we can start teaching children about their emotional health, the stronger and happier they will be as adults.
Happy meditating!
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