Our World is ever changing, throughout the generations children have had different challenges to overcome. However, there is an acknowledgement that today’s children have more pressure put on them than ever before. Increased testing in schools, social media, high level academic pressure and competition are to name but a few. The need to address children’s mental and emotional well-being is becoming increasingly apparent as pressures on them rise.
Working as a teacher in a number of London schools gave me first-hand experience of the need to do more to support children’s well-being. Schools, the government and the NHS have all started to acknowledge this need and an increasing number of schools are employing in-house counsellors and a variety of supportive therapies. My belief is that we can still do a lot more, children need to be armed with resilience and a bank of practical strategies to help them whenever they are faced with a challenge.
As adults we can change how our children learn to cope with pressures and life’s ups and downs. Building emotional intelligence, resilience and growing positive self-esteem are key to changing how children respond to difficult times; however big or small.
So how do we do this? Regular Mindfulness Practice for our children builds self-awareness, helps them to understand their thoughts and feelings better and aids in the development of their emotional intelligence, Yoga practice builds physical and mental resilience, promotes a healthy lifestyle and cultivates compassion. Delivered in an age appropriate way these methods can provide our children with a platform and the tools required to navigate their way.
Julia Karnacz is the founder of Seedlings Well-being. A fully certified, RCM Baby Yoga and Children’s Yoga instructor. She is a Yoga Alliance accredited Yoga teacher and MBSR qualified. She holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and M.A Fine Art (Magdalen College, Oxford). Prior to setting up Seedlings Julia spent 13 years as a Primary School Teacher and Early Years Head across London.