As children were largely prevented from socializing with peers and other adults during the first two years of the pandemic, this has led to a severe impairment in terms of social skills. Studies have shown that pandemic restrictions did a toll on young children’s development, specifically further delaying their ability to self-regulate.
Studies have shown that while self-regulation isn’t present at birth, it can develop faster through experience and practice. Through these mindfulness practices, young children can start developing self-regulation.

Meditation

Achieving mindfulness through meditation may be a little bit harder to achieve in young ones who are just full of zest and energy, bursting with curiosity. However, meditation can be quite tricky to teach to toddlers. To start teaching them, ask them what makes them happy and what makes them uncomfortable. This gives the child an opportunity to know their triggers and remember to slow down if they’re uncomfortable and self-soothe.

Breath work

One of the easiest ways to help young children become more mindful is to teach them breath work. Whenever they seem to get frustrated or visibly upset, teach them to slowly inhale and exhale, being mindful of the air coming in and out of them. This simple practice can be a self-soothing mechanism young children employ whenever they begin to feel negative emotions.
Make it fun through fun breathing exercises like making dragon fire breaths or hot air balloon.

Yoga

Yoga capitalizes on young children’s flexibility and openness to discover their body’s ability to twist and turn. While yoga may only look like a game where children can challenge themselves into whether they can copy a certain pose, yoga also boosts a child’s core strength as they try to hold the pose.
Yoga also lets children develop their gross motor skills as they configure their limbs to balance them as they strike a pose.
As they do yoga poses, young children become aware of their breathing, body, limbs, and mind. Children are subtly forced to be more mindful in the moment and focus on what’s going on in their body and mind, calming them down.
Yoga is also a fun activity which can be done even by non-sporty kids.

Attentional awareness to present moment

In this fast-paced world of young children where energy is constantly high and peers and friends are always onto the next activity, it sometimes can be hard for young children to be attentive and aware of their emotional state about their surroundings.

These mindfulness practices and activities can certainly help young children develop self-regulation skills, especially after a largely isolating period due to the pandemic. As young children learn to be more mindful through these activities, disruptive behavior caused by negative moods and emotions will also lessen.