Stronger Together: Mindfulness Activities to Do as a Family

Teaching your children about mindfulness doesn’t mean enrolling them in meditation classes. It can be more fun and effective to teach with everyday activities right from the home. By practicing mindfulness together, you’re bonding as a family and your children learn habits that will take them far in life! Here are five mindfulness activities to do as a family.

Take an Observation Walk

One of the best ways to encourage mindfulness is by observing the world. Let your children experience the things around them by taking an observation walk. It can be in your neighborhood, backyard, or somewhere more “exotic” like a park or trail. On your walk, prompt your children to pay attention to what’s around them and use their senses. What do they hear, smell, and see? Every time you take an observation walk, try to discover something new together.

Create a Meditation Space

Meditation can be daunting for children, so make it fun and interactive. One of the best ways to do this is to create a space where meditation is encouraged. By carving out a physical location in the home where your children can go to calm down, reflect, or even just read a book is the perfect stepping stone to develop a family meditation routine. Fill your “quiet zone” or meditation area with comfortable pillows, blankets, and objects that make you and your family feel comfortable and happy. Your quiet time together can evolve into more structured meditation or visualization practices as your family grows. 

Create a Vision Board 

Creating a vision board isn’t just a fun art project, it’s a great way to get your family to start getting curious about goal setting and visualization. Bring out the old magazines, scissors, and glue and start creating! Encourage your kids to hang their vision boards in a place where they’ll see them every day to remind them of their goals. Or, create a digital board with the Veraki app and set it as your home screen.

Have a Mindful Dance Party

Movement is one of the best ways to tap into mindfulness. Throw on a playlist with a variety of different songs and dance to the beat of the music. Encourage your kids to pay attention to what types of sounds make them want to jump and move quickly and which ones naturally slow their pace. Using movement is a great way to teach children about body awareness, all while having fun and dancing together as a family! 

Practice Breathing Together

Breathing may sound basic, but practicing breath work is the perfect mindfulness tool. It helps kids regulate their emotions and be in-tune with their bodies. A simple practice starts with breath counting. Count the length of your inhales — one, two, three, four — then match the count on the exhales. Sometimes, it’s easier for the kids to lay down and place a small stuffed animal or toy on the diaphragm area. As they breathe, they can feel the object rising and falling. Notice how it feels to pay attention to the act of breathing. 

Mindfulness activities with the family are a great way to bond and set your kids up with healthy habits. What activities do you love doing as a family? Let us know your favorite mindfulness activities by tagging us on social media or sharing them in our Veraki Collective Vision group on Facebook!