Take the After School Meditation Challenge

What's more stressful than trying to get the kids off to school in the morning? It has to be that moment when we walk in the door after school.

Does this happen to you? 
Everyone is tired and grumpy. After sitting in the long, slow carpool lines and battling traffic on the drive home, I am irritated and impatient. My kids have a million stories about their day, competing with each other to get a word in, while getting louder and louder. When we get home I feel rushed to unpack the lunch bags and backpacks. There are homework planners to sign, papers to file away, dirty lunch containers to clean, and school flyers to read. And then the homework hoopla begins.

It feels so overwhelming everyday at this particular time. There has to be a better way to ease into the school-to-home transition. What can we do to make this time a bit calmer?

I am challenging each of you to try making a huge shift in your routine. Instead of succumbing to the chaos, take a couple minutes with your children to decompress as a family. Create an after school meditation moment.

Try these simple steps:

• Put the bags down and forget about them for now.
• Sit together on the sofa or in a circle on the floor. 
• Ask everyone to close their eyes; you might want to hold hands.
• Take 5 slow breaths in and out together.
• Sit in silence for a minute, or a few minutes if your children can handle it. They will build up to a longer meditation time the more you practice.
• Ask each child to mention one special moment of their day.
• Take two more deep breaths to complete the meditation.

Now everyone is refreshed and ready to conquer the next part of the day. Children need a time out to refresh their bodies and minds, and to calm down their nervous system. This is especially important if they are about to jump into homework assignments. Several studies indicate that meditation can help children reduce stress, increase attention, and improve academic performance.

Will you take the challenge? 
Try it for one full school week. Then post your experience below. Tell us how your children handle the new habit and if you observe a difference in you and your children. Happy meditating!

October is Mindfulness Month

freeimages.com/crissypauley

For the month of October, we are reaching into our toolkit and exploring mindfulness. The gift of being "in the now" is an overarching concept of stress reduction and happiness. Mindfulness means being fully present in the moment in a non-judgmental way. It is so simple in theory, but can be quite challenging as we try to put it into practice.

A few weeks ago I was stuck at home with my sick daughter. She was home from school and I was feeling antsy and irritated that I couldn't go to the gym and run the errands I was planning on doing. What was I going to do to entertain this three year old all day long? Then it hit me...

Why don't I just be grateful for this day off and embrace it? I decided to grab a few games out of the playroom and sit on the floor with her, look into her eyes, and play with her. Sometimes this seems like such a foreign concept for busy parents--actually just PLAYING with our kids.

My daughter and I ended up having a lovely day together at home and I even felt a bit like a kid again enjoying Chutes and Ladders and matching games.

Mindfulness works both ways in parenthood. We need to take a step back once in awhile and be mindful and focused on our children. We need to clear our minds of all the chatter and worries, and just forget everything except that child sitting right in front of us. They benefit tremendously from us being mindful. It is how they know we love them and that they are our priority.

In addition, we can teach them the gift of mindfulness through activities like meditation, yoga, art, and just being in the moment. Many children today are so over-scheduled that they truly don't know what it means to just relax. They think that it is too boring, but it is so critical for their well-being.

This month is a perfect time to highlight mindfulness because there is a fabulous free online mindfulness summit being offered through Mrs. Mindfulness. Every day during October you can access amazing presentations by mindfulness experts like Jack Kornfield, Arianna Huffington, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. I highly encourage everyone to register and participate in this exciting opportunity.

Stay tuned at Happy Science Mom for ideas about children's mindfulness activities, science-backed studies about children and mindfulness, and a review of a wonderful children's book.