Mindfulness is simply taking the time to notice how your body feels and what you see, smell and taste. This can link into our emotions, we often feel emotions in our body, such as pain in our tummy when worried or angry or tingling and butterflies when we feel happy or excited. Mindfulness can help with this. It can change the brain structure and function in the areas of emotion, learning, memory and self-regulation. These areas are of prime importance for a child’s growth and well-being, cognitively, socially and emotionally. Because mindfulness is about noticing what is happening around you, you focus more deeply. This in turn can help you to calm down and help deal with tough emotions such as anger, fear and sadness as well as making you feel happy. Mindfulness goes hand in hand with positive emotional well-being, having a positive effect on a child’s physical and mental health, boosting self-control, increases attention and focus and promotes kindness, patience and compassion. Good mindfulness practice is not all about meditation and relaxation exercises, many simple activities can promote good mindfulness and emotional well-being.
