Can mindfulness be too much of a good thing?

The phrase ‘mindful children’ can sound like a bit of a paradox. It’s a common misconception that children shouldn’t have to worry about practicing mindfulness, shouldn’t have to learn about world issues or even be taught about their own mental health. As adults, it is our job to protect their blissful innocence and just let them enjoy the freedom and incredible experience which is childhood right?

Wrong. Firstly, not every child has the ‘perfect’ childhood that we so often assume. Not every child is living in happiness when they are young.

How are children supposed to grow into confident, compassionate, competent adults without emotional support? Here’s the thing, mindfulness is not about spending hours on a yoga mat, or forcing silence when you want to speak. Mindfulness is learning to enjoy the small things, being compassionate for others, our planet and ourselves. It’s about ending or starting each day with a sense of gratitude, taking a moment to be present and let go of our worries.

If we can encourage our children to discover mindfulness from a young age, if we believe that our young children are capable of empathy, emotional intelligence and being present, we can inspire a whole generation of future adults to leave the world a little better than they found it.

Unfortunately, every single person will face difficulties in their life. Our question is, why wait until that time comes to build resilience and become mindful? Instead, we could equip our children with the tools now, so that when life gives them lemons, they are confident enough to make sweet lemonade.

This year, Georgie Dent announced that Australia spends 15 billion dollars on late intervention for children and young people. We can prevent this by investing in wellbeing programs early. Mindfulness should not be a luxury or extra curricula subject, it should be an essential part of education to allow our children to have the strategies to help whatever challenge that may come their way.