Introduction to Mindfulness for Toddlers
Who even knows if toddlers CAN meditate?
The short answer is yes, toddlers can meditate. But, meditation for toddlers looks drastically different than meditation for adults or even older kids. We need to step back and look at what mindfulness is first-simply paying attention to one thing at a time, with awareness.
Mindfulness for toddlers is an essential practice that helps them develop emotional regulation, focus, and self-awareness. At this age, children are naturally curious and open to new experiences, making it an ideal time to introduce mindfulness practices.
Teaching mindfulness to toddlers can be done through simple and engaging activities that promote their physical, emotional, and cognitive development.
One effective way to introduce mindfulness to toddlers is through play. Using toys and objects that stimulate their senses, such as texture balls, sensory mats, and musical instruments, can help them develop their awareness of the present moment.
For example, you can place a toy in front of them and ask them to focus on its shape, color, and texture. This activity helps them develop their concentration and attention span.
Another way to practice mindfulness with toddlers is through movement. Simple movements like clapping, marching, and jumping can help them develop their gross motor skills while promoting mindfulness.
You can also use songs and rhymes to encourage them to move their bodies in different ways, such as “The Wheels on the Bus” or “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.” These activities not only make mindfulness fun but also help toddlers stay engaged and present.
Meditation for Toddlers
As you’re probably aware, toddlers have a very short attention span!
The more bombarded with technology our children get, the more important it is for us to teach them how to quiet and focus the mind. Incorporating a deep breathing exercise can help toddlers quiet and focus their minds, enhancing relaxation and emotional well-being.
How to Get Toddlers to Mindfully Meditate
Getting toddlers to sit and meditate in the traditional way is probably a no-go. Toddlers need things to be fun to peak and keep their interest. Sitting still and practicing deep breathing exercises is anything but fun for a toddler.
This is where mindfulness games for toddlers can help so much in lengthening your child’s attention span! These games will also help them take deep breaths, enhancing their focus and relaxation.
Mindfulness Benefits for Young Children
Teachers who implemented mindfulness practices in their classrooms noticed a greater sense of calm in the room. Mindfulness practices have also been shown to benefit elementary school students by improving their emotional health and stress management.
Teachers felt their students were more empathetic towards their classmates, paid attention for longer periods of time, and were more detail-oriented in their work. (Perceptions of Mindfulness Practices with Young Children)
With my own 3-year-old, I’ve noticed an improvement in his behavior and sleep.
He was also severely speech delayed, and with the help of mindfulness and a speech therapist for 20 minutes/week, he has progressed immensely!
How Do I Teach My Toddler Mindfulness?
Kids mindfulness involves simplified practices that are easy for toddlers to understand and follow.
Mindfulness is easier to teach to toddlers than you think. Even reading a book can be a form of mindfulness. Mindfulness is any activity where they are fully present and concentrating on one thing (sometimes the breath).
Mindfulness Arts and Crafts
Mindfulness arts and crafts are an excellent way to promote creativity, self-expression, and relaxation in children. These activities can help them develop their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and imagination while encouraging mindfulness.
Here are some mindfulness arts and crafts ideas for kids:
- Finger Painting: Use finger paints and paper to create artwork. Encourage children to focus on the sensation of the paint on their fingers and the colors they are creating. This mindfulness exercise helps them stay present and enjoy the creative process.
- Collage Making: Gather various materials like paper, glue, scissors, and fabric. Ask children to create a collage by cutting and gluing the materials onto a piece of paper. Encourage them to focus on the textures, colors, and shapes they are creating, which promotes mindfulness and attention to detail.
- Drawing: Provide children with paper and crayons or markers. Ask them to draw a picture of their favorite animal or place. Encourage them to focus on the lines, shapes, and colors they are creating. This mindfulness activity helps them express their creativity while staying present.
- Playdough Creations: Make or buy playdough and let children create different shapes and objects. Encourage them to focus on the texture, smell, and feel of the playdough. This sensory mindfulness activity helps them develop fine motor skills and enjoy the tactile experience.
Fun Mindfulness Games for Toddlers!
I started playing mindfulness games with my son when he was two. He is now three, and we still play these mindfulness games often to lengthen his attention span and increase his concentration and focus!
Even after playing them for a whole year, he still loves them (especially dandelion blowing!)
I aim for at least 2 – 5 minutes with each game, but some days he will play a lot longer than that! It all just depends on what we have going on that day and what the mindfulness game is.
1. Stuffed Animal Belly Breathing
This is a wonderful way to wind toddlers down for a nap or before bedtime! Have your child lay on their backs and place their favorite stuffed animal on their chest or belly.
Tell them you are going to count to three or five while they slowly breathe in to make the stuffed animal raise up on their chest. (It helps my son for me to hold my hand above the teddy. Then I ask him to slowly raise the teddy and try to touch my hand with him.)
Next, ask your child to slowly blow out all the air as the teddy lowers for a count of three or five (your choice).
Repeat 10 – 15 times. You may have to build up to this, but just keep going! (When I first started my own mindfulness meditation practice, I could only focus for 30 seconds! So, be patient with your toddler!)
I like to run an essential oil diffuser with lavender and turn the lights low while playing this game. It is a great game for rainy days!
Sometimes, it helps to offer them their favorite healthy snack afterward as an incentive.
Get some other ideas for breathing exercises for kids here:
2. Staring Contest Improves your Toddler’s Focus (And is Really Fun!)
Yes, you read that right! Have a good old-fashioned staring contest with your toddler! They think it’s hilarious! And, as an added bonus, you get them to be mindful for a minute or two. 🙂
Stare at each other, and of course, whoever blinks first or looks away, loses! Make sure to make it a friendly competition though and let them win sometimes to keep it going.
You can add in questions or observations after each round about each other’s eye color, the length of lashes, the number of lines around your eyes (they won’t judge you!)… etc.
3. Mindfulness Chanting with your Toddler
Yes, my three-year-old chants with me! He’s been doing this since he was about two-and-a-half. I like to practice different chants, especially OHM to open my third-eye chakra.
It was never intentional to get my son to do this mindful practice or make it into a game, but sometimes monkey-see, monkey-do.
Today, he chanted, “Mmm”, with mommy’s OHM’s for about 12 minutes while sitting on my lap. All the while, my 1-year-old looked at us like we were crazy! (LOL!)
If chanting OHM isn’t really your thing, you can teach them simple mindfulness mantras, or positive affirmations. These work great in schools for teachers and students, too. Simply choose a phrase or set of words that are positive and calming, and repeat them with your child between 10 and 50 times!
Go slow, use a positive tone, and make a point to breathe at the same time.
Here are some examples:
- “I am strong”
- “Peace and love”
- “I am here now”
- “Breathe in peace, breathe out stress”
Incorporating these mantras into a mindfulness curriculum can help children develop emotional regulation and focus.
4. Nature Observation Walk
We walk as a family. A lot. We also go on nature hikes, and play in the streams, dirt, mud; we play with sticks, and plants, and throw rocks.
Nature observation walks are one of many mindfulness exercises that help toddlers stay present and engaged with their surroundings. While talking a mindful walk, I ask my son a lot of questions to help him be mindful and notice his surroundings. I ask him what color plants are, and where the moon and certain flowers are. We listen, and I ask if he can hear any sounds and where he thinks they are coming from.
Use your listening skills, power of observation and narrate all that you see to help them practice noticing the present moment.
Use this excellent list of things to do on a walk with kids for more inspiration!
5. Sky Gazing
Another simple mindfulness activity to do with your toddler is sky gazing. Look up at the sky! I used to do this for hours as a child! (Since we only had one tv and three channels!)
Sky gazing is an amazing form of meditation to do with little ones! It instantly calms them and teaches them to focus. Plus, it is fun to try and find shapes, animals, and colors in the clouds!
I point out the moon, stars, sun, clouds, planes, birds, and helicopters! Basically, if it’s in the sky, we talk and marvel about it.
6. Dandelion Blowing
Another great mindfulness nature game for toddlers is dandelion blowing.
We practice sucking our breath in for a few seconds and then blowing on the dandelion for as long as we can.
Over and over and over…
My three-year-old loves this mindfulness activity! I’m pretty sure he could do this one all day!
We’ve done it for over an hour, and he still protested when I said it was time to come home.
Dandelion blowing is a great way for toddlers to learn breath control, improve lung function, and interact with nature!
Blowing bubbles is another great activity for breathing, and is so much fun. Turn it into a more mindful activity by crafting your own DIY bubble wand for kids to make! Craft together, then have fun practicing those breathing skills.
7. Candle Staring and Blowing
When it’s cold outside and blowing dandelions is out of the question, candle blowing is a wonderful indoor alternative.
There are two ways to use the candle to keep your toddler’s attention and practice mindfulness. One is staring at the flame of a candle.
This is especially fun when done in no or low light. There is something beautifully hypnotic about watching a candle flame flicker.
My son will usually watch this for a solid 20 minutes at least!
The next option is candle blowing…
Candle blowing for toddler mindfulness is the same principle as dandelion blowing. We count in for three seconds and blow out the candle for three.
A great trick I stumbled onto is using tricky relight candles!
My son blows the flame out and laughs when it magically relights! Like the dandelion, he’ll practice his breathing and blow the flame out over and over and over…
8. Animal Breath Sounds
An easy way to get your toddler to pay attention to their breath, practice mindfulness, and have fun is by mimicking animal breath sounds!
A couple of my favorites are the snake and dragon!
The book, I Can Breathe Like A… is a great book for animal breathing ideas.
Snake Mindfulness Breath for Toddlers
To practice the snake breath, simply ask your toddler to breathe in a deep breath while you count to three or five. (Again, you might have to work up to five. Be patient!)
Then, have them copy a hissing, “Sssss”, sound while blowing out all the air.
Repeat.
To make this more fun, you can watch a snake video with your toddler, print out and color a snake picture, do snake pose (below!), or get a stuffed animal of a snake.
Then, whenever you put on the video, pull out the picture, or get out the stuffed snake, your child will know it’s time to do the snake hiss breath!
Or use yoga poses with each mindful breathing activity to create the added element of movement.
Dragon Mindfulness Breathing for Toddlers
To practice the dragon breathing technique, ask your toddler to breathe in deeply while counting to three or five.
Then, have them copy you as you both make a deep growling, “Haaaaa”, sound. (It helps to stick out your tongue). Let out all the air you can as you exhale.
Ask your toddler to follow along with you.
Repeat.
Again, you can watch a dragon show, print out a picture, or get a dragon stuffed animal to make this more fun for your toddler!
For more fun animal breathing and posing ideas, check out: Clever Ways to Breathe with Your Kids to Calm Down
Download the visual Breathing Cards from the Kumarah Yoga Free Resources Library here:
9. Sensory Mindfulness Guessing Game for Kids
This mindfulness game helps your toddler learn to be present, and mindful, and pay attention to their five senses.
To play this game, you will need 5 – 10 items that are different textures, smells, temperatures, etc.
Some examples of objects that are great to play with are:
- Cotton Balls (For touching)
- A Rubber Ball (For touching)
- Ice (For touching)
- Warm Water (To dipping their hand in. Just make sure they’re potty trained!)
- Feathers (For touching or tickling!)
- Play Dough (For touching)
- Play Slime (For touching)
- Flowers (For smelling and touching)
- Kid Safe Essential Oils (For smelling)
- Show your toddler each item.
- Next, ask your toddler to close their eyes. Put an object in their hand or in front of their nose (if it’s a smelling object).
- Have your toddler open their eyes.
- Ask them to guess what they just smelled or touched! You can even include tastes if your toddler trusts you enough!
This game is great for toddlers to learn their senses and teaches them to be present and mindful within their body. Plus, they think it’s so much fun!
10. Mindfulness and Emotional Intelligence
Mindfulness and emotional intelligence are closely linked. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize and understand emotions in oneself and others.
Mindfulness practices can help children develop emotional intelligence by teaching them to recognize and manage their emotions.
Toddlers are obviously going to have many emotional ups and downs, so giving them the mindfulness skills to recognize their emotions early on may make all the difference.
Here are some mindfulness activities that can help children develop emotional intelligence:
Emotional Charades:
Write different emotions like happy, sad, angry, and scared on slips of paper. Ask children to act out the emotion without speaking, or just show the appropriate facial expression. The other children have to guess the emotion. This mindfulness activity helps children recognize and understand different emotions.
Feelings Faces:
Draw different facial expressions on paper. Ask children to identify the emotion and explain why they think that. This activity promotes mindfulness and emotional awareness by helping children recognize and label emotions.
Emotional Awareness:
Ask children to identify how they are feeling at the moment. Encourage them to describe their emotions and why they think they are feeling that way. This mindfulness practice helps children develop self-awareness and emotional regulation.
Empathy Building:
Read a story or show a video that depicts a character experiencing a strong emotion. Ask children to imagine how the character is feeling and why. This mindfulness activity helps children develop empathy and understand the emotions of others.
Worry Monsters:
For kiddos that are anxious often or scared of the dark, try introducing a breathing buddy or worry monsters- small stuffed animals they can hold when they are nervous. They can whisper their worries to their worry monsters, and practice mindful breathing to help them feel less anxious.
By incorporating mindfulness practices into their daily routine, children can develop emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and self-regulation skills. These skills are essential for their overall well-being and success in life.
Final Thoughts on Teaching Your Toddler Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness and learning to be present has many great benefits for you and your toddler!
These include stress reduction, increased concentration, detoxification, and improvement in overall well-being, just to name a few.
Teaching your child mindfulness from an early age, such as in toddlers, makes it easier for them to keep the habit into adulthood.
Check out these other articles for Mindfulness and Meditation tips and ideas:
- Mindfulness for Kids: A Guide to Cultivating Calm and Focus
- Powerful Reasons for Practicing Mindfulness
- Ultimate Beginners Guide for Practicing Mindfulness Meditation
- Simple Ways to Teach Mindfulness to Kids
Do you practice mindfulness with your toddler or children?
Thanks for reading 🙂
Jamie
Before starting her own website, Jamie worked on projects for many large companies including Novell, Toyota, Zero Halliburton, and Signing Time.
Jamie is a mother of two adorable little humans, who is passionate about helping others heal, spiritually awaken, holistically parent, meditate, eat healthily, and manifest the life of their dreams!
You can connect with Jamie through her website or social media!
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