All of us, it seems, are zinging along these days at a million miles an hour. In many families, parents and kids sprint to keep up with what might be described as hyper-scheduled, overly connected, and perpetually rushed lives. When do we have time to stop and smell the flowers? Families and healthcare providers increasingly recognize the importance of teaching kids mindfulness to promote their health, resilience and well-being.

What is mindfulness? You may hear this word used often, but be unfamiliar with the meaning. This simple term captures what is an ancient approach to broadening one's awareness of the present moment through practices like:

• focused concentration
• relaxation
• meditation and breathing techniques
• movement techniques like yoga or Tai Chi
• positive thinking
• emptying the mind of stressful or difficult thoughts

Mindfulness can promote self-regulation in those who use it, making them less vulnerable to stress, setbacks, and illness. Children who learn mindfulness techniques who have emotional or physical challenges (such as anxiety, or say, wheezing) can develop approaches to help dampen (or even avert) flares in their symptoms. In addition, healthy children may demonstrate improved attention and the ability to recover more quickly from emotional setbacks or illness.

Mindfulness techniques can be learned quickly even by toddlers and preschoolers, practiced on the fly (say on the walk to school, or car ride to practice) and shared as a family. Here are some quick tips on how to teach kids mindfulness.

1. Begin with Yourself 

Take time. Make time. There are many ways to learn about mindfulness: read books, browse YouTube, or download an app for your smartphone. Personally, I try to open my mind when I run. Or, sometimes I'll pause between rooms on a busy, hectic day, and just breathe.

2. Use Role Models

For preschoolers and young elementary school children, use their imagination, and, if helpful, use a toy or object to help them focus. If you are struggling to motivate your child to get started with mindfulness, you can use the power of role models. Kids are more likely to be excited about trying something new if they see one of their favorite characters modelling this activity. A good example is the episode When I'm Feeling Sad from the show Sweet Tweets, where the characters reveal some of their self-regulation techniques, such as noticing and counting their breaths. When kids complete this simple technique, calming happens: blood pressure lowers, heart rate slows, stress hormones decrease.

3. Daily Rituals 

Parents can urge kids to use words to tap into the river of their thoughts and feelings. The idea is that we can merely reflect and think about our thoughts and our feelings, but we don't necessarily have to resolve them. The thinking is in itself the point. Many of us do these meditative behaviors daily with our families, such as giving thanks, saying prayers, or checking in. Making this a ritual that we practice will model it as the great, constructive behavior it is.

4. Adapt to their Age

Preschool and elementary school children may be able to spend 5 to 10 minutes doing a mindfulness approach: deep breathing, focusing on a happy thought or happy experience, or counting down when upset. Over time, children and older teens may benefit from longer sessions or combined activities. Yoga, martial arts, and dance, among many pursuits, may build on a child's skills, competence, and confidence. A great introduction to some basic yoga poses for younger kids is this Curiosityville video.

Teaching kids mindfulness may take some time. Be patient (and mindful!) that some children may need to start small and build. As in all things parental: keep things positive, offer praise for jobs well done, and understand that mindfulness is not a cure-all, but rather a coping technique for children to learn and ideally, use themselves.

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