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Introduction - What Is Mindfulness
Mindfulness has recently gained popularity among the masses for its excellent benefits, but it has been around for a long time. Mindfulness is an awareness of life as it passes by in every moment. It is viewing and experiencing life through a kind and calm lens, experiencing and savoring every moment like a true connoisseur.
To be mindful, one must observe everything, thoughts, emotions, feelings, physical sensations, environmental and social factors. But it is not sensory shopping for everything that is out there. Instead, it refers to being completely present in the moment, mentally and physically, enjoying every bit of it.
Since every bit of life cannot be lived mindfully, it is important to resort to it during important moments and daily activities. Mindfulness can be inculcated in kids by engaging in its daily and diligently, especially because of its impact on decision-making.
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Mindfulness And Decision-Making: The Link
Mindfulness and decision-making’s connection to biology. Practicing mindfulness helps reduce stress, improves focus, and enhances cognitive functioning. Specifically, mindfulness affects the frontal cortex and thickens the prefrontal cortex.
While the frontal cortex is focused on future planning, the prefrontal cortex is efficient in decision-making. Mindfulness also controls and shrinks the amygdala which is the brain’s fight-or-flight attendant, responsible for hosting anxiety and stress.
Regularly practicing mindfulness helps kids develop clarity of thoughts and focused decisions instead of panicked reactions and overwhelming emotions. Therefore, it is ideal to practice mindfulness to improve brain functioning and decision-making skills in kids.
Tips On Using Mindfulness To Help Kids Make Better Decisions
1. Let Your Children Lead
While you cannot let your kids do whatever they want, it is wise to let them lead and decide in some cases. For example, if you are making dinner, let your child choose the starters. This will not only make them mindful about their choice, but also get them involved in it. It will also teach them how to decide.
2. Teach Them Consequences
Children often do not understand that if they cut the branch they are sitting on, they will fall. A classic example of actions having consequences, this is a must-learn for your children. They will make mindful decisions only when they understand their choice will have an impact, which can be good or bad.
3. Changing Your Mind Is Okay
Explain to your kids that it is okay to change their mind. They do not need to worry about something they said or chose and then obsess over it all day. For example, if your kid has opted for a chocolate dessert, but really does not like it, it is okay to admit and change their mind about it. Wasting food is not good but forcefully eating something they do not like and then suffering from it later is not okay as well.
4. Create A Safe, No-Judgement Zone
It is imperative to create a safe, judgment-free zone for kids at home. Kids are vulnerable when they are learning to develop mindfulness, and any form of harsh criticism can undo all the good. Children also learn better from their parents by seeing their parents mindfully and wholeheartedly.
5. Affirm Their Choices
If your child has made a good choice, then affirm and validate their decision-making. This mindful and precise reminder will help them understand what they did right and remind them to repeat it later. Children always feel more confident and comfortable when their choices or decisions are approved and appreciated by their parents.
6. Do Not Let Regret Form
While parents always want the best for their kids, they often forget what being a child felt like. Do not let your kids have any regrets. While regretting is a natural, often nostalgic part of life, letting it build can lead to unhealthy feelings and habits. Let your child choose and make decisions, by appreciating the right ones and helping them learn from their mistakes.
7. Being Wrong Is A Learning Process
Mindfulness helps kids live in the current moment without fretting about the future. Similarly, making mistakes and wrong decisions is also a learning process. It is not the ultimate mark sheet with your kid’s life performance printed on it. Making mistakes and incorrect decisions can be a great learning curve, but only with the correct home environment and guidance from parents and family members. Always remember, do not label your kid’s decisions as good or bad. Let them decide. You simply nudge them in the right direction.
Conclusion
Mindfulness will always be a treasure mine of wondrous benefits for kids. All you need to do is ensure they engage in it daily during studies, mealtimes, and leisure. Mindfulness also needs to be practiced while making decisions, an act which will be easier by following and giving this guide a try.
The views expressed are that of the expert alone.
