Meditation for children

(Photo by Jack Moreh/FreeRangeStock.com)

I've been thinking about taking up meditation. My job has been stressing me out lately, and I thought meditation might help me handle the stress a little better.

I had the thought that this might be good for my daughter, too -- a way to share a little "girl time," as she calls it.

So I googled "meditation for children," and learned that many experts believe mindfulness training can beneficial by helping youngsters to respond better to stress,to sleep better and to possibly even improve their focus. (Source: Meditation for Kids: Parents Turn to Mindfulness Training to Help Children Stay Calm at HuffingtonPost.com)

When I picked up my daughter from school on Monday, I decided we were definitely going to give this a try. As soon as she got in the car, I told her she and I were going to spend a few minutes meditating every day.

I thought she'd ask what "meditating" was. Instead, she said, "I'm going to meditate right now."

There, in her car seat, she pulled her legs up so that she was sitting cross-legged. She rested her hands, palms upward, on her knees, closed her eyes and said, "Ohhhhhhhhmmmmm. ... Ohhhhhhhmmmm."

Must be something she learned on Youtube Kids.

But at least she's on board.

We had our first meditation session later that evening, guided by a free app I found called simply, "Meditation for Children." The app was fine, but I'd like to try out a few to find which works best for us. I'll revisit this topic when I find a favorite.