Category Archives: resilience

New online talk – this month

ADHD, anxiety, Autism, behaviour kids, calm kids, child development, getting started, heart-centre, meditation, mental health, mindfulness, resilience, self regulation, special needs, teens, toddlers, , , ,

The 3 things your child needs for mental health – online talkhands touching to make a heart - child mental health and meditation

We’ve just announced our next online talk

It’s about using meditation and mindfulness to support the 3 things your child needs for mental health development.

There are limited places – the talk is live and available as a recording too. find out more - child mental health and mindfulness talk

 

Useful links…

  • Connected Kids foundation  course – online or in-class) (This is the gateway to our professional level)
  • Books – Calm Kids (beginners) or Connected Kids (working with special needs/anxiety).
  • Free Meditation downloads for children/teens/autism – created by the international trainer, expert and founder of Connected Kids programme. learn how to teach kids meditation - learn more button

helping kids and teens with mental health

age groups, anxiety, challenges, compassion, free meditation, grief, loneliness, meditation, mental health, mental health day, mindfulness, research, resilience, stress, suicide, , ,

Mental Health Day

In the UK yesterday there was a mental health awareness day to help us understand and talk about mental health. mental health day and mindfulness

As someone who teaches meditation and mindfulness, this is a key part of the work I do.  It’s why I set up Connected Kids as I have witnessed, many times, how teaching kids, teens and adults meditation helps improve their mental health.

But mental health isn’t the whole picture.  We have emotional and physical health to consider and these are inextricably linked to our mental health. Continue reading →

The #MeToo campaign and mindfulness

#metoo campaign, anger, anxiety, breath, calm kids, challenges, compassion, emotions, harveyweinstein, heart-centre, meditation, mental health, mindfulness, resilience, sexual harassment, sleep, stress, world peace, yoga, , , , , ,

 

Like me you have probably become aware of the #MeToo campaign which highlights the level of sexual harassment that women experience throughout their lives.

As we can see, it has been an underlying epidemic that females have tolerated for thousands of years in all areas of life.

But I’m uncomfortable with the idea of saying #MeToo and adding my voice to social media.

I don’t deny that I’ve had some unsavoury and traumatising experiences growing up that I would rather forget.  My yoga and meditation practice has (and continues) to help me heal from this.

However the #MeToo campaign leaves me hanging.   It feels a little bit like watching a tragedy on the news and feeling helpless to ease the pain of those involved.  I observe friends saying #MeToo on social media and then I start to worry and wonder about them and their experiences.

It also hangs guilt and shame on the wrong shoulders – of the decent boys, teens and men who don’t want to treat women that way.  Perhaps If I were a man, maybe I would lower my gaze and no longer feel confident engaging with females.

But if I sit and reflect on the #MeToo campaign through my meditation practice, I have a sense that …

Continue reading →

Children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and sleep issues

ADHD, anxiety, Autism, behaviour kids, calm kids, challenges, emotions, heart-centre, meditation, mindfulness, resilience, schools, self regulation, sleep, special needs, stress, , , ,

(Guest blog written by one of our Connected Kids Level 1 Students from Denmark…)

Many children with ADHD have difficulty falling asleep at night, and parents of children with ADHD often see that their children rarely seem to be rested when it is time to go to school.

When children go to school or kindergarten feeling tired, it means that their internal battery is not fully charged. They get into conflict more easily, find it harder to stay focused, and their emotions are unstable because of a poor night’s sleep.

Continue reading →

5 Ways Mindfulness Creates Resilience in Children

anxiety, behaviour kids, calm kids, challenges, child development, compassion, dan siegel, educating, emotional intelligence, emotions, meditation, mental health, mindfulness, research, resilience, self regulation, stress, , ,

 

At the moment the world is quite a turbulent place.  If we think our children are too innocent or immune to the stories coming out in the media each day – think again.

Every time we listen to the news on the radio, watch it on TV or surf social media and the internet when our kids are around – they absorb what they hear and see.  Even if they don’t understand it.

So we have a choice.  We can either shield children completely from the world around them (but how do we stop this going on in the playground at school, sometimes in the classroom and at sleepovers?) Or we can help them build their resilience and cope with the ‘bad things and people’ in this world. Continue reading →