Alexis Kestler
We all know the tremendous benefits that meditation offers in our daily lives. It has helped people achieve a stable mental state for ages. Meditation is a magical practice that can positively change anyone‘s life. While adults can actively look for ways to deal with stress, kids cannot do this on their own. Childhood is no longer the carefree time it used to be. Kids now face various challenges and academic pressures, creating a lot of stress. Introducing meditation into a child‘s daily routine early on can improve their mindfulness.
Here are some key benefits of teaching kids to meditate from an early age:
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Channels their energy: Kids have tremendous energy. But if not appropriately directed, this energy gets wasted on unproductive activities. Guided meditation apps help kids channel their energy into fruitful work. With these apps, meditation becomes a natural part of their lifestyle. It improves memory, concentration, and school performance, making life less stressful.
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Makes meditation fun: In today‘s tech-driven world, technology is a child‘s second teacher. We cannot deny how intricately connected we are to technology. Guided meditation apps present meditation to kids as a fun activity. This makes adopting a meditation practice much easier for them. For parents, getting kids interested in meditation can be challenging. But apps make it happen in an engaging, lighthearted way.
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Handles stress better: Nowadays, childhood has become more competitive and stressful. As kids grow up, their stress levels also rise. But exposing them to meditation early on prepares them to handle pressures and future challenges better. No one can accomplish this as well as meditation apps designed just for them.
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Boosts emotional intelligence: A significant benefit of regular meditation is improved emotional intelligence. Long-term meditators are more emotionally stable and adept at managing relationships. An emotionally intelligent person handles their own and others‘ emotions constructively. However, teaching meditation to kids presents a major challenge. Meditation apps make this process far less daunting. In short, these apps can make a child‘s life calmer and more peaceful.
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Enhances learning capacity: Meditation apps boost kids‘ learning capacity and retention power. As a result, academic performance improves, and exam stress decreases.
Since this generation relies heavily on technology, using it to introduce meditation is an excellent approach. Numerous apps are available to make teaching kids to meditate easier. Let‘s explore some top-rated meditation apps for children:
Headspace
Founded in 2010, Headspace is one of the first meditation apps offering guided activities tailored for kids. While basic courses and tutorials are free during the two-week trial, a paid subscription unlocks the full meditation library.
Meditation session lengths range from 1-9 minutes, unlike longer programs for teens and adults. Content covers areas like sleep, calm, focus, kindness, and more. Motivational tools include inviting friends, earning rewards, and reminders. Headspace works on Android, iOS, Apple Watch, and integrates with Apple Health.
Headspace is an Editor‘s Choice in the App Store for its breathing exercises, visualizations, and focus-based kids‘ meditations. The interface is streamlined and uses fun animated videos to instruct.
Key Features:
- Kid-friendly meditation content with playful animations
- Bite-sized sessions from 1-9 minutes
- Programs to build calm, focus, sleep, and kindness
- Motivational tools like rewards and reminders
- Fun design tailored for children
- Editors‘ Choice in App Store
Platforms: Android, iOS
Mindful Powers
Mindful Powers is an award-winning app using mindfulness to help young kids develop emotional intelligence and resilience. Its skills-based approach teaches them to handle stress and anxiety through the power of playful interaction.
Mindful Powers easily fits into a child‘s daily routine. Fun activities guide them to thrive in relationships and life using mindfulness. The straightforward interface lets kids use the app on their own.
Key components are Mindful Play and Focus Time:
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Mindful Play: 10 voice-guided sensory activities like calming a worried character. This builds focus through touch.
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Focus Time: A self-timer restricting distractions during tasks. It teaches time management skills.
The app is free with in-app purchases for added content.
Platforms: Android, iOS
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame uses research-backed meditation to teach kids Sesame Street‘s strategy of slowing down and problem solving. This bilingual app (English and Spanish) is designed for ages 2-5.
The storyline has kids helping a monster friend relax through breathing, thinking, and trying out solutions. Quirky animations and touch interactions appeal to young children. The vocabulary, breathing exercises, and encouragement help build confidence and coping skills.
Key features:
- Voice-guided breathing and thinking activities
- Kids help a monster relax through touch interactions
- Bilingual in English and Spanish
- Builds vocab, deep breathing, and problem-solving
- Based on Sesame Street‘s research-backed strategy
- Designed for ages 2-5
Platforms: Android, iOS
Piku Calm Kids
Piku Calm Kids is a meditation app for ages 3-12. It uses guided mindfulness and meditations to teach focus, happiness, and calm. These help kids become more attentive and present through positive thoughts and emotions.
The app features breathing exercises, bedtime stories, and imaginative journeys. These describe visiting fantastical places, befriending animals, and peaceful bubble baths. Piku makes adopting a mindful lifestyle easy and fun for children.
Key features:
- Voice-guided mindfulness and meditation
- Cultivates focus, calm, and emotional intelligence
- Breathing exercises and peaceful stories
- Imaginative journeys to relaxed, happy places
- Designed for ages 3-12
- Makes mindfulness fun and easy
Platforms: Android, iOS
Meditation for Kids
Meditation for Kids provides a fun, simple way to teach mindfulness. It has 100+ kid-friendly meditations, bedtime stories, and sleep music.
Designed for Android and iOS, this app uses stories and calming music to introduce mindfulness. Kids learn to unwind, gain peaceful minds, and improve focus. It reduces anxiety while nurturing emotional intelligence.
Key features:
- 100+ meditations, sleep stories, music tracks
- Calming content to destress and focus
- Improves emotional intelligence
- Decreases anxiety
- Mindfulness through stories and music
- 7-day free trial
Platforms: Android, iOS
Aumio: Sleep & Meditation App
Aumio has a dedicated kids section with playful meditations, sleep stories, and music. These teach mindfulness and emotional intelligence while relaxing the mind and body.
The app uses games, tutorials, music, and stories to improve sleep, focus, and relaxation. Kids learn meditation basics through fun beginner courses. Mindfulness games and quick "SOS" exercises provide anxiety relief.
Key features:
- Playful meditations, sleep stories and music
- Beginner courses explain meditation basics
- Mindfulness games and SOS exercises for anxiety
- Improves sleep, focus and relaxation
- 7-day free trial
Platforms: Android, iOS
Ninja Focus
Ninja Focus helps with better sleep, concentration, and emotional control. Child development experts designed the content. It uses meditations, bedtime stories, music, and pep talks to instill mindfulness in kids ages 3-12.
Benefits include:
- Fun interface engages ages 3-12
- Dreamy bedtime stories and lullabies
- Meditations build focus, calm, sleep, and resilience
- Pep talks guide coping with challenges
- Soothing music enhances concentration
- Yoga flows, pose cards, and affirmations
The free version offers limited content. A paid plan unlocks full access.
Platforms: Android, iOS
Moshi
Moshi uses mindfulness to help kids destress. Experts designed the creative content to spark imagination, improve focus, and promote relaxation.
Features include:
- New imaginative bedtime stories every week
- Audio-only mode for screen-free listening
- Short meditations and deep breathing
- Soothing, sleep-inducing sounds and music
- Custom playlists to match child‘s mood
- Themed playlists for situations like naptime or bedtime
- Free with subscription for premium content
Platforms: Android, iOS
New Horizon
New Horizon has relaxing stories and sleep meditations for better rest and lowered anxiety. These guided practices promote calm to improve bedtime and sleep habits.
Benefits:
- Original audio content added weekly
- Bedtime meditations and stories
- Mindfulness exercises to reduce anxiety
- Promotes restful sleep and focus
- Individual purchase, no subscriptions
- Child-safe without ads
- Accessible offline
Platforms: Android, iOS
Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind offers free mindfulness and meditation for older kids and teenagers. It is popular in schools for its classroom lesson plans coordinated with the app content.
The meditation library is categorized by themes like appreciation, concentration, relationships, sports, and more. Activities range from short guided practices to longer self-directed sessions. There are grounding body scans, breathing exercises, music and taste activities, and nature visuals.
Key features:
- Free mindfulness and meditation app
- Coordinated classroom lesson plans
- Themed practices for sports, exams, emotions, etc.
- Shorter guided meditations to self-directed
- Body scans, breathing, sensing exercises
- Accounts for individuals and classes
- Downloads for offline access
Platforms: Android, iOS
Conclusion
Teaching children meditation early on has lifelong benefits for focus, resilience, sleep, and emotional intelligence. These top meditation apps are designed just for kids in simple, imaginative formats that will hold their attention.
The best approach is to try out free trials and see which app resonates most with your child‘s interests and needs. Over time, a regular meditation habit can work wonders for helping kids manage childhood stress and pressures in a mindful way.
