Earlier, there was a Facebook live session with Stephen (Uncle Ma), who specializes in Mindfulness for Kids.

Revisit the live session: https://fb.watch/5pXSIzfxnQ/

Thank you, Stephen, for sharing information about mindfulness and sleep during the live session. Here's a summary of the key points mentioned in the live session for all parents to reference!

Parents can incorporate some simple relaxation techniques into their existing bedtime routines to help their children achieve deep sleep.

**If your child is in the infant stage (around 6 months old), here are a few parent-child mindfulness methods:

1. Practice mindfulness with your baby through massage, preferably while gently informing your baby about your observations and feelings in a soothing voice. The best times for massage are after a bath and just before bedtime.

2. Hold your baby, focus on the present moment, close your eyes, listen to the sounds of the present, and guide your baby with your voice.

3. Take your baby into a natural environment and observe the natural surroundings, such as trees, leaves, seeds, rocks, ponds, and waves, while using your voice to guide your baby. Allow your baby to touch the objects you describe, engaging their senses to focus on the present moment.

4. Similarly, use voice guidance, but this time focus on your baby in front of you, using your five senses to describe your child's mindfulness and feelings.

**If your child is in the toddler stage (around 6-12 months old), in addition to the infant methods mentioned above, you can also use the five senses to guide your child when they explore the world, helping them stay focused on the present.

**For children aged 2 and older, you can introduce some breathing exercises. Sometimes, you can use a singing bowl, allowing the child to listen to the sound of the singing bowl, going from loud to soft to silent. This is also a great way to promote focus. If you don't have a singing bowl at home, you can chant "OM" instead.

**For children aged 5 and older who already have a mindfulness habit, they should be able to sit quietly for 1-5 minutes. How does mindfulness help us fall asleep or enter deep sleep?

1. It naturally increases sleep-inducing hormones.

2. Mindfulness can slow down heart rate, lower blood pressure, and activate the part of the brain that controls sleep, making it easier to fall asleep.

3. Regular mindfulness practice each day can slow down the nervous system, reduce anxiety, and make it easier to fall asleep.

4. Mindfulness helps you and your child focus on breathing and the five senses, preventing thoughts from racing in your head. This helps both you and your child relax, feel peaceful, and fall asleep more easily and smoothly.

5. It reduces the impact of negative emotions and alleviates the negative effects of stress (for older children).

#Mindfulness #MindfulParenting #Sleep #AwakenSenses #VoiceGuidance #SingingBowl

====================================================== Recommended Reading: "Accompanying Children in Learning Mindfulness" - A book that conveys the positive power of mindfulness through books to yourself and your friends' children. Order here: https://forms.gle/NnD1CnsMWxZZdWZg6

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