Meditation has nothing to do with concepts or thinking. Due to the emphasis on conceptual learning in our education system, this may be difficult for today’s parents to understand . Meditation cannot be “taught” like math or science. It can only be modelled and guided by a teacher and/or by parents.

Nonetheless, through this article I will share some guidelines on how you can teach your little ones to meditate-

1. Make sure they are ready to give meditation a try; if they are full of energy and itching to run and play, it may not be the best time for practicing meditation for the first time. When you are just introducing them to Meditation, it is best to try right before sleep time. The children are more receptive at that time, and also physically drained. They would accept the activities more willingly.

2. Explain Meditation to them in an age-appropriate way with words they will understand. If we use words they don’t understand at their age, the whole exercise is futile. So make sure you explain to them what they are doing. For example, you could tell them that their favorite cartoon character also does Meditation right before sleep time. They would naturally want to practice then.

3. Offer to do meditation with them; sometimes having a model makes all the difference. If they practice by themselves, with parents or teachers merely giving instructions they feel like it is homework and therefore, boring. But if parents and teachers practice with children, it is a fun activity. This small thing makes a huge distinction in their minds.

4. Finish the practice by doing something they enjoy to ensure they have a positive experience. This will build a positive association with meditation. These practices and activities will stay with them for their entire lives. We tend to forget events and words but feelings associated with certain things always stay with us. So it is very critical that they really enjoy the process and have only positive feelings associated with meditation.

5. Start with something small, like a few deep breaths. Expecting kids to sit in a place, holding a mudra and meditating is nearly impossible (let alone kids, expecting adults to do it is quite a task by itself!) So start with something small and fun that they would love.