Anxiety is one of the biggest day-to-day challenges that many children face. With so many things going on with the world around us (like dealing with the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic), it’s no wonder that many kids are struggling with anxiety and worry – plenty of adults are too!
But while anxiety may be a normal response to many day-to-day stressors at school, it’s important for kids to master the art of managing worries effectively, so their mental health will not suffer at a young age. This way, they can stay in charge, think with clarity, and make smart decisions both in the present and down the road.
What is Anxiety?
According to the American Psychiatric Association, Anxiety refers to the anticipation of a future concern and is more associated with muscle tension and avoidance behavior. Fear is an emotional response to an immediate threat and is more associated with a fight or flight reaction – either staying to fight or leaving to escape danger.
It might seem that kids are allowed to be as carefree as they can be, especially if they have their parents and teachers to take care of them, but even at that, they might struggle with mental and other psychological issues.
As parents, caregivers, and educators, it’s essential to leverage technology in a way that promotes the well-being of children. This blog post unravels the best apps designed to support kids’ mental health and emotional development.
Calm Kids
Calm Kids takes pride in its extensive content library, featuring an array of original Sleep Stories, soothing meditations, and enchanting lullabies suitable for children and teens. Not to mention that adults who are young at heart can benefit from it too!
If you have a kid who is struggling to fall asleep because of anxiety, you can pick this app as it has hundreds of programs and stories to choose from. From classics like Alice From Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, and Peter Pan to modern stories like Moana, Tangled and Transformers.
DreamyKid
Aside from being a top-notch mental health app, it offers kid-friendly guided visualizations, affirmations, and meditations. Kids can listen to selections to promote relaxation, falling asleep more easily, focus for school, and more. This app helps kids struggling with confidence as it uses proven techniques and equips kids with effective methods to navigate life with greater happiness and self-assuredness.
Headspace: Guided Meditation and Mindfulness
Headspace offers guided meditations for young ones having difficulty in dealing with information overload and anxiety. It comes with meditation technique videos that can help kids internalize their feelings as well as assess their emotions.
Breath Ball
The Breath Ball can be any kid’s ultimate stress-busting companion and is designed to help bust stress with ease, as well give guidance to achieve serene meditation and pure relaxation. This awesome mental health app prides itself on four effective breathing exercises to elevate every user’s well-being.
Kids can now say goodbye to inner tension and sleep easily with their Cardiac Coherence Breathing Exercise. It stands out as a powerful tool to help you enter a meditative state, unlocking the door to deep relaxation.
Twinkl Educational Publishing also goes beyond traditional classroom resources by also providing meditation activities for students:
Mindfulness for Children Mental Health Lesson Pack
Inside this pack, you’ll find a range of mindfulness-centered activities aimed at nurturing your children’s mental health. These activities include bedtime gratitude reminders, guided meditation for deep breathing and thought reflection, as well as a Calm Jars worksheet.
The underlying goal of these activities is to empower children to recognize and manage their feelings of anxiety, stress, anger, or sadness. By taking just a few minutes to be fully present in the moment and focus on something neutral, children can learn to navigate their emotions and, over time, find a sense of calm.
When it comes to taking care of a kid’s mental health, there are truly no hard and fast rules on the “right” way to practice it. The same principle applies to mindfulness activities tailored for children. In this light, leveraging technology to teach mindfulness education for kids offers a rich tapestry of possibilities and is remarkably adaptable.
Don’t forget to check out ChildLight’s Yoga & Mindfulness Curriculum Packs too!
Enjoy Twinkl’s ULTIMATE membership to try out all of our premium resources for FREE. Here’s what you have to do:
- Go to Twinkl’s Sign-up Page
- Type in TWINKLHOMESCHOOL under Promo Code
- Click Sign up or Subscribe Now or Subscribe Now!
- Be ready for unlimited fun and homeschooling adventure!
- Use the code through December 31, 2023.
This will give you 1-month free access to all of Twinkl’s premium resources!
Twinkl and their content team featured ChildLight on their Top Virtual Field Trips for Homeschoolers- you can read more here.