Our youth are being bombarded with so many images coming at them from all directions. What does this do to their mindset? I’m thinking it can create a whole lot of turmoil in their thought processes. Don’t you think? There are many things that come to mind…. appearance comparison, lifestyle comparison, envy, jealousy, worry. Because of this influx of images and scenes into their lives, literally happening by the minute, I am concerned about how we can help children with such impressionable minds navigate life in a positive way. My JUMP INTO JOY CLUB at Kidzone is an amazing way to expose your daughter to mindset tools she can use to do just this! Depending on what our kids are exposed to, they can become faced with so many questions about themselves and their lives. Whether they realize it or not, their minds are going to places we can’t really understand. Could this be why anxiety and depression are on the rise in our youth? We can’t ignore this problem! We need to help our kids create a positive daily life for themselves despite this changing world they are growing up in.
So I was thinking about how we all typically begin our year setting goals and intentions for possible changes and growth in the upcoming months. The start of a new year creates a mindset for looking forward. We ask our students at Kidzone to set tumbling goals at the beginning of the year. I asked a 5-year old student, do you know what a goal is? She said, “I know what a soccer goal is.” I thought, wow, this is really hard to define for this little girl. It made me wonder, how do we talk to young kids about goals and intentions? Creating an activity for your child where they draw something they love can be a great place to start! This is really the start of visualization, a vision board on a child’s level.
I think it would be awesome if you sat down with some markers and paper with your child, and both drew something you love about today and then maybe you discuss drawing something they would like to do in the future as a “goal”. In my workbook, Jump Into Joy, we have this activity along with so many other great interactive activities for you and your child to do together!
In my opinion, the social media frenzy creates a mindset for looking everywhere but at ourselves. My suggestion would be to help our kids focus on today, the present moment, looking inward for true happiness and fulfillment. Well, how the heck are we supposed to encourage this in our children when we know full well they are nearly addicted to their phones already at such a young age?
This is a super tough concept to explain to a young child! Let’s start with just a few ideas and see how they work. It starts with communication of course. One of the best ways to bring our minds into the present moment is to focus on our breath, heartbeat, and then attempt to quiet the mind. This really is a description of meditation. But I would say let’s not focus on that label when first talking to your child about this. The thing is, I want to help children understand the idea of focusing inward, not on the internet, and creating a life they see as happy. Children will grasp these ideas best when we spark their imagination and allow them to express their thoughts through creating and physical expression. Helping your child set up a daily practice of focusing on the present and showing them how to create pictures of their ideal life is key to reducing their stress and worry about the challenges they may be facing.
