They’d much rather be out and about having fun and getting dirty than sitting still with their eyes closed. It isn’t easy for us as grown-ups, so think about how hard it is for kids. It may seem feasible for teenagers or even pre-teens to grasp the fundamentals of meditation, but what about kids younger than that? We all know sitting quietly isn’t that easy. And with sharpened emotional intelligence comes essential life skills such as resilience, empathy, active listening, and humility. Meditation has also been shown to help young minds to develop a keen sense of emotional intelligence, the ability to identify and manage one's own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. One pivotal study found that mindfulness meditation can increase feelings of calmness, relaxation, and self-acceptance at a time in life that many adolescents may need those things the most. It’s impactful on personal growth as well.
That’s because, over time, meditation trains the mind to be less easily distracted.īut meditation isn’t only for academic growth - just as we know it’s not only a tool for professional improvement. In one 2019 study, high school students who practiced meditation were found to have a better attention span than those who did not. Meditation has even been shown to improve focus. This is a skill that can essentially help them become better students as they gain more awareness around what learning strategies work best for them. It has also been shown to help kids develop an awareness of their own learning or thinking processes, something that’s referred to as metacognition. One of the most important ways meditation is able to help kids excel in the classroom is by improving their working memory capacity, one of the brain’s key executive functions for cognitive development - and a particularly important one when it comes to developing core academic skills such as literacy and mathematics. In a school setting, meditation can have a measurable, positive impact. And while younger kids may be decades away from a career, they may already be full-time students. Time and time again, meditation and mindfulness at work have been proven to help adults excel in their professional lives. Parents can introduce kids to meditation early on Meditation can help kids improve their overall well-being … and do better in school