Tiny Humans, Big Presence:
Mindful Children

As a yoga and meditation teacher, these practices are my life and livelihood. The powerful shifts and changes they have supported, and the way of living that they encourage are deeply important to me, so it would be easy to assume that getting my boys into yoga and meditation is something I’ve made a top priority.

While I know firsthand how nourishing and helpful these practices can be at any age or stage, I also have learned that when it comes to kids, especially little ones, mindfulness is more powerfully role-modelled than taught by instruction. You can lead a horse to water, as they say… but with children, they have to see you drinking in order to taste the water themselves.

If you’re calm, grounded, and connected to your breath, our children feel that. They’re already tuned into us in ways we often don’t even realise. Tiny humans are still building the very parts of the brain that mindfulness relies on. For the first years of life, we are our children’s prefrontal cortex and nervous system. So when we regulate ourselves, we help them to regulate. When we slow down, breathe, and ground, we invite them to do the same.

“Teaching” Mindfulness

I often find the most impactful time to “teach” mindfulness is when I’m dysregulated myself. If I’m angry or overwhelmed, I’ll say something like: “I’m feeling frustrated right now. I’m going to take a few breaths so I can calm down”. This shows them that it’s not about being calm all the time: it’s about knowing how to come back to yourself when you’re not. I don’t meditate with my kids every day, but I do meditate in front of them. I don’t always tell them to take some deep breaths when they’re overwhelmed, but I do name my feelings and show them how I’m working through them.

So rather than teaching my boys formal meditation or guiding them through sun salutations, I’ve woven the essence of these practices into how we live, play, and connect. I’ve adapted what I’ve learned, and let them absorb it naturally. When my eldest son was about 5, I asked him what meditation was, and he described perfectly “sitting still and seeing how you’re feeling”.

If you’ve ever watched your toddler lie on the ground to self-regulate in a meltdown, taking a deep belly breath… or noticed your child stretching like a cat in the morning, you’ll know that kids are natural yogis and meditators. The trick isn’t to teach them something new – it’s to help them remember by encouraging them to become a little more aware.

Here are a few gentle, playful ways to invite mindfulness or more awareness into your child’s world:

1. A Pause In The Busiest Moments of The Day

When the morning rush gets the better of us, or bedtime is out of control, I’ll pause mid-lunch-making or in the bath and say, “Who can make their breath the loudest?” or “Let’s breathe like dragons!” Or I might ask them to name three things they can hear or see in the room around us.

2. Regulating in Real-Time

Sometimes when I feel myself getting snappy or stressed, I name it out loud: “I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed. I’m going to take five deep breaths.” This models a bit of EQ without needing a lecture. They see that regulation is a process, not a perfection.

3. Taking In The Quiet Moments

Bedtime books are a mini wind-down ritual for us, and before the stories start, we do a “listening minute.” We close our eyes and listen: to the rain, the fridge humming, a sibling snoring.
This is something that you can also do when you pull up to the house and turn off the car, or in the morning when you come in to get your kiddos out of bed.

4. Changing Feelings

This is a really important one as it shows children how everything changes – and nothing lasts forever, even big feelings. After a big emotion, pause and ask them to tell you how they feel in their body and see if they can notice how things are different. You can ask them, “what’s there now?”. Adults can definitely reflect upon this too!

With our children, the most important thing isn’t getting it perfect, it’s being consistent and showing up as a real, honest and open person. And always remembering that our children learn far more from what we model than what we tell them to do.