Mindfulness Activities You and Your Family Can Participate

Make family mindfulness a top priority by following these simple steps! Utilize these 5 powerful Family Mindfulness Activities for enhancing your ability to concentrate and find inner calm.

To practice mindfulness, you must learn to focus your attention on the still, quiet core that resides within you at all times. Studies have shown that it can lower anxiety even in people who haven’t practiced mindfulness for a long time.

People who engage in mindfulness exercises, both children and adults, learn more effectively. For children with ADHD, these methods may help rein in their impulsiveness and hyperactivity.

Because of mindfulness’ great benefits, it’s now being taught in schools. As a bonus, it’s something you can do with your children. It’s possible to have a good time practicing mindfulness with the whole family. Next time your family needs a little peace, try one or all of these ideas.

1. Take a walk and listen.

This is one of the best family mindfulness activities out there!

Even if it’s just your backyard, take a walk in the woods. With the rustling of the leaves and a pine cone falling, pay attention to the sounds around you.

Cutting two holes in the sides of two cups and then slipping them over your ears with the cup’s drinking side facing forward is an easy (and entertaining) way to turn paper cups into amplifiers.

Even at a bustling mall or crowded restaurant, you can take a listening walk despite the distractions.

2. Eat with your senses and enjoy every bite.

Mindful eating is one of the most specific disciplines because of the wide range of flavors, textures, and temperatures found in food.

For the first few minutes of meals, ask everyone to play with their food, savoring each taste and texture.

This can include everything from hot oatmeal with fruit, nuts, and cinnamon to an ice-cold hamburger with sopping wet buns enhanced by sweet, syrupy ketchup. 

Your thoughts will undoubtedly slip away (whether bath time will be late today or you forgot to call the dentist). Whenever you notice that you’ve drifted off course, refocus.

3. Enjoy some time alone.

In times of silence, people go about their daily business, but they don’t say a word.

In the beginning, start with a timer for five or ten minutes and work your way up from there.

Although you can provide everyone with a bit of notepad to jot down thoughts and share them later, you should avoid other communication forms such as writing, signaling, and sign language.

Silence surprised me the first time I heard it—not because of the sound itself, but because of the silence.

My thoughts raced to fill the silence with a cacophony of babbling. After a while, the mental chatter fades away (but never stops entirely).

As a result of shutting down the avenue via which so much energy is expelled, you will realize that the world is more vibrant than it was before.

4. Try meditating while sitting down.

Kids (and adults!) may find it challenging to remain still and concentrate just on one thing during formal meditation.

It is incredibly successful, as seen by the extensive time spent on it by Buddhist monks, Hindu swamis, and Christian contemplative practitioners.

Dim the lights, turn off your phones and have everyone sit down on the floor or a chair with a back for a few minutes. Focusing on the breath is the most popular form of meditation. 

By imagining themselves sipping a cup of hot tea and then slowly blowing it out, kids can get the hang of this technique. Each session should end with a sacred moment before everyone rushes out.

Holding hands and “squeezing” love into the right hand of each other till it travels around several times is a ritual we have in our home.

5. Stop, Breathe & Think Kids – a great software for kids.

If you want to cultivate a state of mindfulness, you should avoid playing video games or watching Netflix, but it doesn’t mean you should completely abandon your phone. Several apps cater to children’s mindfulness needs, such as Stop, Breathe & Think Kids (free; App Store). 

In addition to emojis, the program offers a series of “mindful missions” that help users focus and relax their minds… These activities help improve sleep, reduce stress, and regulate over-excitement, contributing to better overall health.

After completing the missions, users can exit the app with a sense of accomplishment.

These are just some of the Family Mindfulness Activities you and your family can enjoy. So make sure to go through each one of them slowly but surely!