The rise of apps, social media, on-demand streaming, video games, and bite sized-content as a whole has led children (and adults) to rapidly consuming content faster than ever before and prompting discussions about focus and attention, especially in children.
While not always adverse in nature, these constant distractions do contribute to a decrease of focus and concentration in children, especially in the short-term. This decrease of attention can have real impacts too, like in school where higher attention levels are positively correlated with better learning.
It’s not realistic, or even necessary, to ban your child from screens altogether, but introducing your child to meditation can boost their concentration, and enhance their overall well-being, too.
Concentration is essentially the power of intentionally using focus. It’s when, even with distractions, you choose to apply your focus to something specific. In kids, this might look like paying attention in class rather than doodle or talk to classmates. Concentration is closely related to attention span, which is the length of time you can apply focus before being distracted.
Like most things, concentration, focus, and attention span are different for every child. Some kids find concentrating easier than others- and that’s okay. For other kids, including those with ADHD, applying concentration is much harder, especially during low reward activities, due to differences in the reward center of the brain.
Concentration is an executive function of the brain, meaning that concentration is a necessary skill that contributes to cognitive control and achievement. Concentration is closely related to learning, memory, and self-control. In kids who are still in their early development, using concentration may look like listening to rules, paying attention in class, and not acting on immediate impulses.
In the short term, concentration helps kids move through their daily activities, like following the rules at recess, more smoothly. It helps them learn and retain information more easily. In the long term, research shows that kids with better executive functioning do better in school and have less behavioral problems compared to children with poorer executive functioning.
Outside of academic and behavioral performance, kids with better concentration can have more self-esteem, get along better with their peers, and achieve personal goals more easily. By refining tools like concentration, kids are free to learn, play, and grow without being constantly sidetracked by distractions.
Focused meditation is a type of meditation that involves intentionally focusing your attention on a single point, like an object, thought, sound, or sensation. Whereas other types of meditation are practiced without a point of focus, focused meditation is defined by holding concentration on this single point.
Even when focus wanders, and it will, refocusing back to the point of focus strengthens concentration and trains your brain to increase its attention span.
Yes! Kids can absolutely practice focused meditation and experience the same benefits as adults. It’s important to note that like any other meditation practice, kids need to be introduced to focused meditation in an engaging and kid-friendly way. This might look like listening to a guided story meditation to learn about focused meditation, focusing on a favorite toy or stuffed animal, or practicing alongside a parent or caregiver.
Kids naturally learn from modeling and stories, so don’t be afraid to sit down with your child and let them see you engage in a focused meditation. And you don’t have to be an expert either, just letting your child see you meditate for a minute or two can be enough to get them interested and want to try a practice of their own.
⭐️ Tip: Introduce focused meditation with Deer’s Crystal Cave, a guided story meditation designed to teach your child the fundamentals of meditating on a single point of focus.
There are numerous benefits of practicing focused meditation for both kids and adults including:
Research shows that executive functions, like concentration and focus, can be improved by meditation, even in people who are new to the practice. This means that the concentration developed during meditation is transferable and can be applied in settings other than meditation, like paying attention in class or learning a new hobby.
Improving emotional processing can improve children’s day to day lives in so many ways. Brief meditation has been found to improve emotional processing and boost overall psychological well-being. For kids, this means that meditation can help reduce tantrums, boost their emotional memory, help foster healthy relationships, and increase problem-solving skills.
Not only can meditation help you fall asleep faster, it can also improve the quality of your sleep. For kids, sleep is an essential part of their development responsible for releasing growth hormones, retaining information, and supporting overall health.
Kids who practice focused meditation learn how to gently redirect their minds when thoughts interrupt their focus. This teaches kids to be patient with themselves, leading to more self-compassion and greater empathy for others.
Practicing focused meditation helps kids train their brains to focus. This can help kids with ADHD improve their attention spans, gives their brains a break from constant chatter, and as a result can reduce some of their over-reactions and impulsive behaviors.
Kids can practice focused meditation in many ways, and the way that is most meaningful and engaging to them. Focused meditation is exactly what it says it is: focusing on something you can see, hear, taste, smell, or feel.
Breath is a common focal point for meditation. Focusing on the breath involves noticing all the physical sensations involved with breathing, from the coolness of the inhale, the pause before the exhale, and then the exhale which is always a little bit warmer than the inhale. Some people notice the breath more in their nose, others in their belly or chest. But what if your child has a stuffy nose, or doesn’t want to focus on taking slow, deep breaths? The good news is- you can focus on anything. Here are a few ideas:
Almost anything of interest can be the object of focus for a focused meditation. This is good news for kids because it means they can find something that is special and meaningful to them and use it as part of their meditation practice.
It is easy to move between different objects of focus for each meditation session. And kids can choose to meditate with whatever senses appeal to them the most for each practice.
Focused meditation will become easier, and much more natural for kids, each time they do it. Meditation is a practice for a reason- it takes time spent in practice to get the hang of it. Kind of like playing the piano or hitting a baseball- you get better at it, and it becomes easier in time.
Like being able to play a piano or perhaps making a spot on the baseball team, meditation has its own special rewards. It makes piano or baseball playing easier, because it helps kids concentrate and focus so they can learn better, not just in school, but to devote attention to other hobbies and pursuits as well. Focused attention meditation is like a meditation superpower, and it’s available to kids anytime and anywhere.
