Simple mindfulness practices to help your child (ages 5-12) deal with anxiety, improve concentration, and handle difficult emotions.

Mindfulness the quality of attention that combines full awareness with acceptance of each moment, just as it is, is gaining broad acceptance among mental health professionals as an adjunct to treatment. This little book is a very appealing introduction to mindfulness meditation for children and their parents. In a simple and accessible way, it describes what mindfulness is and how mindfulness-based practices can help children calm down, become more focused, fall asleep more easily, alleviate worry, manage anger, and generally become more patient and aware.

Included with purchase is an audio CD with guided meditations, voiced by Myla Kabat-Zinn, who along with her husband, Jon Kabat-Zinn, popularized mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) as a therapeutic approach.

The book contains eleven practices that focus on just these scenarios, along with short examples and anecdotes throughout.

1. Sitting still like a frog , basic meditation for kids aged 7 – 12
2. The little frog, basic meditation for kids aged 5 – 12 or anyone who wants a simpler , shorter version of exercise 1
3. Attention to breath , directing and shifting your direction for kids aged 7 – 12 and older
4. The spaghetti test,  relaxation for kids aged 5 – 12 and older
5. The pause button , how not to react automatically for kids aged 7 – 12 and older
6. First Aid for unpleasant feelings,  for kids aged 7 – 12 and older
7. A safe place, visualisation for kids of all ages
8. The conveyor belt of worries,  when those thoughts won’t stop churning – for kids aged 7 – 12 and older
9. A little Boost, when things are looking down, for kids aged 5 – 12
10. The secret of the heart chamber, practicing kindness – for kids aged 7 – 12
11. Sleep tight, for kids of all ages