Growing Calm Minds: Mindfulness Practices for Kids and Teens

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Written By Taylor Locke-Ribble, Registered Psychotherapist

A few quiet moments can make a big difference in your child’s day. Mindfulness can help kids and teens reset, refocus, and feel more like themselves.

There are many misconceptions about mindfulness, it is not just sitting quietly or focusing on your breathing (although you made do so). Mindfulness is a skill that helps kids and teens to better understand themselves, what is happening in both their minds and bodies; which supports the growth of calm minds. Kids and teens may face many stressors in their day-to-day, whether this be in their friendships, family pressure or the fact they face many transitions as they grow. Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can be used anytime and anywhere.

Why Mindfulness Works (and What it does to your brain)

One of the most interesting things about mindfulness, is that it actually changes the way your brain functions. Mindfulness increases activity in the areas of the brain manage your stress while decreasing activity in the areas that impact your fear and emotional alarms [2]. That is why when you bring attention to your breathing or ground yourself in the moment, it ca help to regulate your emotions and calm your nervous system faster. Those are not the only benefits to mindfulness, in addition to lowering stress, it can support improved focus, working memory, increased self-awareness, and reduces emotional reactivity [1]. The overall impact on well-being is a great benefit to kids and teens as it can positively impacts their ability to concentrate in school, manage moments of adversity and react mindfully, as their brains are still readily developing. Additionally, there are not just emotional benefits to mindfulness, but physical ones as well. As mindfulness can positively impact stress, it can result in more restful sleep, lower blood pressure and even pain management [4].

Making mindfulness work for kids & teens

Mindfulness, like mental and physical health, is not a one size fits all approach. The approach can easily be tailored to the person, their developmental level and their needs.

For Kids

Younger children often learn best through play based activities. Mindfulness helps children to slow down, reflect on their thoughts and feelings with less immediate emotional reactivity. Engaging in simple sensory games, breathing exercises, body scans can encourage them to better understand what is happening in their bodies, which helps them better identify what emotion is present for them before reacting to it [3].

For Teens

Older children can often handle more involved mindfulness strategies, particularly related to managing stress, improving self-esteem and overall emotional regulation. The world can feel very big to teens who are about to step into adulthood, they are navigating school, relationships, future careers; mindfulness can support them in how to quiet and calm their minds. Teens may take longer to find an expressive activity that works well for them, however, we recommend journalling a a helpful tool for meaningful exploration and expression.

Why Journalling Matters

Journalling is often one of the most impactful mindfulness tools. It can support teens in naming and navigating challenging thoughts, putting them on paper and letting go of the weight they carry. When thoughts feel stuck, they can feel substantially bigger than they may appear when you are able to read them. Additionally, journalling can work for both kids and teens, as long as it is addressed as a developmentally appropriate level.

Prompts for Kids

While kids are learning, they may benefit from a parent reviewing the prompts with them so they can ask questions. You can encourage your child to share what they are journalling about with you, but it is important to give them the agency to share as they are ready.

  1. What is one thing you noticed today with your eyes, ears, or nose?

  2. What is one moment today that made you feel happy, proud, or safe?

  3. Did you have any hard moments today? How did you get through it?

Prompts for Teens

Teens will likely value more privacy as they complete journalling exercise. However, it is important to create a safe space where they feel they can share their thoughts and feelings with you as they are ready. Privacy often feels massive to a teen, and respecting that will build trust.

  1. What is one moment today where you felt truly present?

  2. What emotions showed up for you today, and how did you respond to them?

  3. What is one small thing you can do today to feel more grounded tomorrow?

How Mindfulness Builds Skills that last

Mindfulness isn’t just something that helps in the moment, it supports building lifelong habits and skills. Like most skills, the more you practice it the easier it will be and the more benefits there will be, soon mindfulness will feel completely normal part of daily life [1].

Here are four ways mindfulness practices will support your well-being:

  • Mindfulness helps strengthen the areas of the brain that are responsible for focus, attention, and organization. With practice it becomes easier to stay present in the moment, tune out distractions, and follow through on tasks that may require periods of concentration.

    Try this: Practice mindfulness everyday, even for 5 minutes.

    For example, walk yourself through how you are doing a task. “I’m taking the cap off the toothpaste, now I’m squeezing it on my toothbrush and putting it under water etc.”. This is a task you would already be completing everyday, but now you are bringing increased awareness to it.

  • Mindfulness and gratitude practices can support you in becoming more compassionate, patient, and grounded when communicating with others [2]. When you bring awareness to your feelings, it can be easier to understand yourself, express yourself clearly, listen to and understand others and handle conflict with confidence.

  • Resilience looks at how you can handle and adapt in moments of adversity. When you practice mindfulness, it impacts your nervous system, which can positively impact your ability to navigate tough moments. Whatever you’re going through may feel hard, but you may feel more able to address these challenges as they come [2]. This becomes even more helpful in adulthood.

  • Mindfulness helps you better identify your emotions as they appear, understand where they’re coming from, and why they may be showing up in the moment. Rather than responding with emotional reactivity, mindfulness practice helps to slow down, pause and identify what is needed in the moment. This makes it easier to handle tough moments, communicate your needs, and show empathy and compassion toward others.

    Try this: Once a day and ask yourself, “What emotion am I feeling in this moment and what is it trying to tell me?” Often, naming the feeling helps to build emotional awareness which may help to calm your brain.

Final Thoughts

Tiny moments of awareness add up and can help you to find deeper meaning.

Mindfulness isn’t about being a perfectly calm and in control person, or trying to push aside challenging feelings. It’s about taking small steps and learning self-awareness, leaning into the mind/body connection. Whether it is for kids who are learning mindfulness as a game, or a teen who is exploring journalling for the first time to vent big emotions, mindfulness is versatile and adjustable as you grow. Over time, habits strengthen your brain and help you build confidence in who you are and how you handle adversity.

Most importantly, mindfulness is something you can lean into at any moment. Tiny moments of awareness add up, and can make big and meaningful changes throughout your life. Your practice can be completely unique to you, and we would encourage everyone to give it a try!

Taylor Locke-Ribble, Registered Psychotherapist https://newhorizonspsychotherapy.com
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