Day 30- #MindfulnessForChildrenChallenge

Congratulations! You have made it to the last day of the #MindfulnessForChildrenChallenge! Today we will end on a positive note and show gratitude!

It is an odd time for everyone right now and it can heighten our anxiety levels and leaves us as a world of moaners. Whinging and moaning about everything from the weather to government is a favourite pastime of the young and old alike. We focus on the bad and are surprised by the good. This leads to a vicious cycle of negativity which then becomes the focus of our attention and anything positive is seen as just a fluke or fleeting moment.

By taking the time to be grateful and lingering in the grateful moment, we start to be mindful of the good things in the world. We start to see more positive things; positivity breeds positivity. We start to see the good in people, we crave it and, when we see it, we want to repeat even more good.

This MUST be modeled to children so that they can see the positive effects that gratitude can have on their personal lives.

Today, the challenge is a FAMILY challenge. I declare today, #RandomActsOfKindness Day!

We get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life; mindlessly moving through the day without a real thought to what is happening to others around you. Today, our mindfulness practice with our children will focus on others. We will do this through random acts of kindness.

During the day, have the family randomly do some form of kindness for another person. It does not require any money, only your own free act of kindness.

If you are finding it hard to come up with some ideas, here are some to get you started.

• Make a Thank You card for someone thanking them for their love, caring, help or any other thing that person has done for you.
• Do a chore for a sibling or parent without asking.
• Smile at a stranger that is looking sad as you take a daily walk.
• Tweet or Facebook message a genuine compliment to three people right now.
• While you’re out, compliment a parent on how well-behaved their child is.
• Write a positive note and leave it in a random place to be discovered by one or more people.
• Email or write to a person who has made a difference in your life.

Have each family member try to do at least three RAKs during the day.

I hope that these past 30 days have given you and your child and opportunity to develop mindful practices that are having a positive effect on your lives.

Don’t forget to share your child’s mindfulmoment and successes by using the hashtag #MindfulnessForChildrenChallenge in the comments, on Twitter @Ed_Tmprince or on Facebook at Education’s Voice – Mindfulness ( https://www.facebook.com/educationsvoice/ ).

Please let me know how you are getting on over time.