It’s the second week back at school. The newness has already worn off and the struggle has begun. Clothes are strewn across the floor like fall leaves after a heavy storm. You’ve found part of your clean uniform, but the other half looks like it’s been chewed on by the dog. Your book bag has been taken by aliens because you’ve looked everywhere and it’s just, gone. The alarm clock didn’t go off and now Mom is mad at you because you’re making everyone late. Impatient eyes assault you as you round every corner, while you frantically attempt to pull yourself together and then, pop! There it goes. You lose your cool and explode, screaming and crying. Why can’t anyone understand or at least help you?
Sound familiar?
Chances are, you’ve experienced a similar situation at some point in your life. Not a good way to start off the day, right? Well, here’s a suggestion. How about practicing some mindfulness in order to get routine and organization into your life? Sure, you’d give it a try if you only knew what that meant…
Mindfulness practices help kids to build awareness of their inner and outer beings, to recognize that their thoughts are just that, thoughts, and to see 
how their emotions can manifest themselves in physical terms throughout their bodies. Mindfulness helps kids recognize when their attention has wandered and gives them the skills to regain focus and control of these runaway emotions in order to bring the mind and body back into a calm, rational state.
One of the keys to practicing mindfulness hinges on the idea of discipline. If you make a habit of doing your mindfulness activities at the same time every day, you help establish that routine. This then leads to a consciousness of mindful ideas. This concept is not unfamiliar to adults (like establishing that exercise routine we know will make us healthier or doing our meditations every morning) and can be taught to children with a little effort and consistency.
Next is the idea that keeping organized can help eliminate stress. Let’s look at the example in the first paragraph. Simply taking a few moments the night before to lay aside a clean uniform, locate the book bag or prepare a new one, and double check the alarm would’ve eliminated a complete emotional breakdown. All of these are types of mindfulness practices. By getting your children in the habit of preparing for school each night, you help to ensure a more peaceful and productive morning. This, in turn, allows them to focus in on what Mindfulness tip needs to be done that day instead of starting off in a state of chaos.
Now, let’s say that life, as it has a way of doing, all came crashing down one morning despite the completion of these organizational routines. What then? Well, if you’ve kept up the routine of your mindfulness scripts or practices, they can certainly be called upon to help restore focus and calm even after a moment of high stress. Are you seeing the pattern now? By keeping up the habit of daily meditation or mindfulness, you are able to fend off some meltdowns and then to regroup after them.
Want some more mindfulness ideas? Click on the link below to get our top list of mindfulness tips!