Mindfullness techniques benefits not only adults but it also helps kids too. With the challenging world and external stressors that kids these days are facing here are three mindful books for toddlers which may be just what they need.
Did you know approximately 267 babies are born around the world each minute? India accounts for almost 19% of those births (about 51 births per minute). With new life comes new opportunities to teach the importance of love, kindness and compassion from a young age and let’s be honest, the world could use more love these days.
Raising loving, kind kids who can connect with the simple pleasures of life is no easy feat these days. Materialism is real and with the constant bombardment of advertisements on the newest toys and gadgets, it’s harder than ever to relay the message that happiness can come from creating a calm, stillness inside.
So what can we do to help support kids in understanding and learning about the simple joy that cis found in connecting with our calm? That life is about making loving, memorable moments? Lead by example and make some of those moments with them! There’s a variety of ways to make moments and today we’re focusing on one of our classic, timeless favourite ways to bond — storybook time. We’re adding a spin though with suggesting this time not only be used to create an experience of love and relaxation (does it get sweeter then a kid snuggling up to you while you read a story?!) but to chose books that help teach these values too.
Read on for three of our top mindfulness books for toddlers because it’s never to early to start learning how to create our own calm, practice meditation and be compassionate towards ourselves and each other!
We’re told not to judge a book by it’s cover but this book is sweet on the inside as it is on the outside. This board book by Imprint Publishing House is full of adorable illustrations with babies from diverse ethnic backgrounds. It’s designed to teach kids (and families) how to meditate through simple, step-by-step, child-friendly instructions. Our favorite aspect of this book is it’s one of many in a series — other topics include Chakras and Astrology.
Sleepy Little Yoga: A Toddler’s Sleepy Book of Yoga
First published in 2007, written by Rebecca Whitford with illustrations by Martina Selway, this book integrates gentle movement into the storytime experience by providing a soothing sequence of nine yoga poses to help toddlers get ready for nap or bedtime. An interactive picture book, it provides poses through fun animals (owls, bunnies, bats and more) and won the 2008 Bank Street Best Children’s Book Award.
ABC Mindful Me: ABCs For A Happy, Healthy Mind And Body
Most caregivers start exposing their kids to the ABC’s early on — often in song form in the toddler years which is why despite it being geared towards kids 5+, we’re including it on the toddler list. Written in 2017, this children’s book is by award winning illustrator Christiane Engel. ABC Mindful Me is a great way to continue the important tradition of learning the alphabet while creating a storytime experience and teaching mindfulness — it’s a triple whammy!
Using colourful illustrations, each letter of the alphabet is paired with a mindfulness word and playful rhymes to help teach the concept (for example, “C is for Compassion, spread your love, show that you care, compassion is for us to share!” One of our favorites is “N is for Namaste, close your eyes, bow to your heart, thank you all for taking part!”)
Another great aspect of this book, is you can find some youtube videos where it’s being read aloud to follow along. That being said, we definitely encourage grabbing your own hardcopy because with it’s promotion of health, wellness and all things lovely, it’s a staple book for any kids library that can be read countless times.
All books we’ve shared can be found on Amazon but if your town has any independent bookstores, try supporting local by looking and buying them there.
Main Image Photo Credit: David Brooke (gnome), Lesley Juarez (note), Shashi Ch (meditation), Zoltan Tasi (lotus) all www.unsplash.com
Rachna Sethi
Author
Rachna (@thesassyspiritual) is a graduate of the Applied Mindfulness Meditation program from the University of Toronto, a certified Educator with two bachelor degrees and a diploma in Art Therapy. She's dedicated to living with a compassionate approach. Committed to helping people integrate Mindfuln...