Learning Mindfulness as a Life Skill

Stephanie Snider, a social worker in the Troy school district, recently shared this story of the impact that mindfulness was having on one of her elementary school students.

We have been incorporating Mindfulness within our elementary school culture through the weekly lessons I have been teaching in the classrooms. The other day, my principal received a call from one of our third grade parents, who also happens to be a middle school teacher in our district. ​

She only recently became aware of this initiative through her daughter and shared how thrilled she was to see its impact. She had taken her daughter to the doctor’s office for a check-up earlier that week. As her daughter was about to receive a shot, she noticed her breathing deeply, with eyes closed and hand on her belly. Later she asked her daughter what she was doing. Her daughter explained that she was practicing mindful breathing, using her hand on her belly as an anchor to help her stay focused and in the present. A few days later, the parent noted that she was feeling very frazzled about needing to get several things done. Her daughter, recognizing her mom’s anxiety, suggested that she should ‘practice Mindfulness by focusing on the present moment’.

Isn’t it wonderful to see that this child saw the value of applying mindfulness to situations outside of the school that cause anxiety in herself and her parents? Truly, a life skill! Often our children are our best teachers.