This article will reveal 5 simple mindful mantras for kids just getting started at meditation. They help with confidence, anxiety, frustration, and more.
Are you struggling to introduce your kids to mindfulness and meditation? Or maybe you want to provide them with extra support on top of their guided meditation practice? If so, it might help to start out with some positive, confidence-boosting mantras. Mindful mantras for kids will ease them into meditation, acclimating them to a mindful way of life with a few simple phrases.
Tell your kids that they can use these mindful mantras at times when they feel upset, anxious, angry, or self-conscious. That could be before a presentation, exam, or even just attending school. Repeating mindful mantras is a valuable practice to set your kids up for a more conscious and stable attitude towards life. These are the top 5 mindful mantras for kids we recommend starting out with.
1. I am thankful
We all want our kids to say their ‘pleases’ and ‘thank yous’. This mantra takes that wish the extra mile and makes being thankful a part of your children’s everyday lives. It’s a great mantra for grounding them at the moment as they consider what they have in the world and take a moment to appreciate their little slice of life. So many people aren’t grateful for their privileges, so it’s crucial to instill this positive, appreciative attitude in your kids at an early age. It’s also so easy to get wrapped up in negative, scary thoughts and forget what we have, especially as kids. This mindful mantra will provide them with comfort that they have a loving family around them. It also puts things into perspective, allowing them to realize that they may be scared/anxious/upset, but there are also good things too that make negative feelings not so bad.
2. I am safe
This leads to the next of the mindful mantras for kids that we recommend. ‘I am safe’ is key when your kids are fearful of a situation, event, or person. It’s important for them to remind themselves that they are protected and safe in their family bubble. It’ll also help them feel safe in themselves, which has the positive side effect of boosting confidence and feelings of security.
This is also a crucial mantra for nightmares and insomnia related to bad dreams. Most young kids tend to go through periods of having nightmares and it can be very taxing on both you and your kids to stay up all night warding off monsters! If your child has a go-to mantra they can try to calm themselves down before calling out, ‘Mom! Dad!’, that would be ideal. And they should learn to self-soothe so they can develop as an independent person. Of course, some nightmares won’t be erased with a simple, mindful mantra, but you might be surprised by the positive effect on your children’s nerves.
3. Let it go
It’s hard to deny the power of this simple, sweet phrase. It’s easy to obsess over things or overreact to small issues and sometimes we just have to remind ourselves to ‘let it go’. That it’s in the past and there’s no use mulling over it anymore. It’s also about realizing that the past is out of your control, so it’s a waste of time and energy to worry about it. This is a life-long skill that your child should learn, so why not make it a daily, meditative practice? Tell your children to repeat ‘let it go’ if they find themselves ruminating over something that happened, perhaps an event that embarrassed them or what someone said to them. We all do it, but it’s best to shift this negative energy early on in life.
4. Be the pond
This mantra starts with a story you’ll need to relay to your children. The story is pretty much a mini-guided meditation. It goes as follows: Imagine a big, blue pond with lots of little fish swimming in it. There’s an angry fish, a sad fish, a happy fish, an anxious fish, and many others. The fish are swimming past you, but your job is to be in the pond. You don’t need to interact with the fish, just watch them swim by.
If you didn’t notice, it’s a metaphor for teaching children to observe their thoughts without reacting to or judging them. And that is the foundation of mindfulness, so this is a perfect beginner’s mindful mantra. It’ll teach your children the concept of mindfulness without them even being aware of it. Over time, they’ll develop a mindful way of thinking about their thoughts and feelings, all through these simple mantras.
5. I am loved
Feeling unloved is one of the worst feelings (and I’m sure your kids don’t feel like that!), but on a bad day, everyone needs some reminding. The beauty is that your kids can remind themselves when you’re not with them to tell them. This is useful if you’re young children are on a sleepover and they get homesick or are at school and miss you. If they simply remind themselves that they are loved by their parents, it should ease their anxiety and bring about a state of calm. Of course, it’s not instantaneous, but the more they practice it the better.
Print these mantras out or write them on post-it notes and stick them around the house.
If you and your kids are ready to delve deeper into mindfulness and meditation, why not try out our very own guided meditations for kids? Moving on to guided meditations doesn’t mean the mantras should stop. Both are part of the wider lifestyle of mindfulness and will work with each other to develop your children’s meditative mindsets. They’re available on Spotify, iTunes, our website, or our app.