10 Mindfulness Books for Little Ones
We all want the best for our children. We want them to be happy, healthy, peaceful, and successful in their life. One way we can give our children a solid foundation in life is to teach them mindfulness and how to understand and manage their emotions. It is one of the things that even the best of us struggles with. In this post I provide a list of 10 of my favourite mindfulness books for children. They are all amazing, beautiful stories that will help provide your children with an early understanding of mindfulness and their big emotions.
Getting Started
I remember going to the library with my mother and picking out books to read at home. I figured if it had a pretty cover, then it must be a good book. Some part of me still thinks that way!
Now that I am adult, I know the cover has nothing to do with how much I enjoy the book. I look for a story that captures my emotions or my mind. But when it comes to children’s books, a well-illustrated story makes a big difference. Little children are drawn to colours, beautiful pictures, or the cut-outs they can put their fingers in. So as a parent, I try to find a book that not only looks pretty, but also tells a good story. Now if that story offers my child a lesson, then I know I have found gold!
Below are 10 books that offer young children a lesson in mindfulness. You may even find you enjoy the lesson as much as your little one.
I hope you will find one or two that you can add to your book collection.
Reading Mindfully
When you sit down to read to your child, do so with intent. Intent of not only reading a story of mindfulness, but of exhibiting mindfulness yourself. Here are a few ideas for your mindful reading practice:
- Sit next to your child with the book in your lap. Before you start the story, invite your child to take three slow breaths with you. Breathe in through your nose to a count of 4, hold for a count of 2, then exhale through your mouth for a count of 4. Repeat this three times.
- Look at the book cover and ask your child to notice something unique about the book.
- As you read each page, ask your child to point out their favourite picture or word on the page.
10 Mindfulness Books to Start With
Mindfulness Activities for Kids (And Their Grown Ups)
Mindfulness Activities for Kids (And Their Grown-ups) provides 40 mindfulness activities for you and your child to do together. This book is separated into 6 chapters: Breathe Together, Strengthen Your Senses Together, Focus Together, Be Kind Together, Imagine Together and Relax Together. The reason I like this book is that it gives you short and easy activities you can do with your children.
As the parent, you need to read this book and lead the exercises. Your child can subsequently follow along and learn through your example.
Empathy is Your Superpower: A Book About Understanding the Feelings of Others
“Learning to understand and care about the feelings of others is one of the most important steps in a child’s development.” This book teaches your child about empathy through real-life scenarios and discussion questions. The questions are simple enough for a young child to understand, such as, how do you show someone that you care about them.
This is an short, illustrated storybook that your child age 4-7 can read with your assistance.
Find Your Calm: A Mindful Approach To Relieve Anxiety And Grow Your Bravery
Anxiety is a big emotion that most children can struggle with. This book gives your child a few simple activities they can use when they feel anxiety is taking over. I especially like the list of Grounding Activities at the end. If you can practice these activities with your child, you will find they can better manage their anxiety when it shows up.
This is a short, illustrated storybook that your child age 4-7 can read with your assistance.
Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere
This book includes 30 simple, short breathing practices and movements that can be performed anytime, anywhere. This book is separated into 6 chapters: Be Calm, Focus, Imagine, Make Some Energy and Relax. I love the colourful illustrations in this book.
This is a longer book that you need to read, although each activity is short and concise. You can easily walk through each beautifully illustrated activity with your child in a few minutes.
This is such a cute story and reminds me of the movie, How To Train Your Dragon. This cute book is part of a larger series of 42 books on various social and emotional lessons. In The Mindful Dragon, a little boy teaches his dragon, Diggory Doo, how to deal with everyday situations using simple mindfulness techniques. My favourite part of this book is the cute dragon. It reminds me of the innocence of our little ones and how we need to guide and nurture them.
This is a short, illustrated storybook that your child age 4-7 can read with your assistance.
I Think I Am!: Teaching Kids the Power of Affirmations
Author Louise Hay has developed this book based on the premise that thoughts create our life. This is a difficult concept even for us adults to manage. Yet, this book makes it easy and fun to distinguish between negative thoughts and positive affirmations. These affirmations can be used daily by you and your child to help light up your day.
This is a short, illustrated storybook that your child age 4-7 can read with your assistance.
I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness
I am Peace is a beautiful book written by Susan Verde. Susan is a New York Times best-selling author of I am Human and I am Love. This book gently guides children through a story that combines mindfulness and positive affirmations. It encourages our children to breathe, taste, smell and live in the present moment. My favourite part of this book is that it reads like a guided meditation, one that will not only help your little one, but will also help you.
This is a short, illustrated storybook that your child age 4-7 can read with your assistance.
Mindful Kids: 50 Mindfulness Activities for Kindness , Focus and Calm
This boxed card set includes 50 mindfulness games, visualizations and exercises divided into 5 categories. The activities are designed to help children feel grounded, find calm, improve focus, practice loving-kindness and relax. Colourful, whimsical illustrations fill both sides of each card. The best part about this card set is that the activities can be modified for children of any age, even our grand-parents!
This boxed card set can be used by children from age 3 to 104!
This cute book gives toddlers some ideas for how to calm down. The author invites children to cuddle a blankie or take a deep breathe. My favourite part of the book is when he says, “It’s ok to cry.” Crying is just a display of an emotion, one which can range from happiness to sadness, from relief to stress, and so many others in between.
This is a board book that you can read to your baby or toddler.
Meditation for Kids: 40 Activities to Manage Emotions, Ease Anxiety, and Stay Focused
This book focuses on meditation for children. Meditation is one of my favourite mindfulness techniques. Author Tejal V Patel believes it is never too early to introduce your children to meditation. Even if they do not yet fully understand, they will follow your lead. The exercises in this book are cute and make meditation fun and playful.
This is a longer book that you need to read, although each activity is short and concise.
