Mindful Sundays for kids

Written by Amy Rollo, M.A., LSSP, LPA, LPC-S

Founder of Heights Family Counseling

I noticed a few years ago that a bit of tension stays with me on Sundays. I might be a bit shorter in my responses with my husband, feel a bit more tension in my body, or a bit of dread in my body. It’s funny that I feel this way every Sunday because I love my job. I created my job, and I’m my own boss, but even I am susceptible to Sunday Scaries. This realization made me wonder how my own young children feel Sunday night before the school week begins. While they enjoy school, I know the stress likely begins before Monday. Subsequently, I’ve been very intentional for our family in what we do on Sunday. We started doing more mindfulness practices, and I’ve noticed the entire family feeling calmer each Sunday evening. Here are a few of my favorite activities for our family.

Legos: Just like we learned about adult coloring books, research has shown that Legos help with stress and can be a mindfulness activity. Legos have shown to require focus. Children and adults need to focus their thoughts on their creation, follow instructions, and assemble the parts. This leaves little time for distractions, while the mind remains focused, calm and engaged. The last few weeks, we’ve been hitting up Target to have our wind down Sunday time spent completing a Lego.

Nature Walks: Being in nature is perfect for practicing mindfulness. Your time is spent looking at the colors of the leaves, being aware of your surroundings, and present in your environment. I’ll be honest, I have found random lizards and other nature in my kids’ pockets on laundry day, but it’s worth it. Everyone is outside in the sunshine, enjoying the elements, and thinking fully about the present moment.

Play-doh: We love play-doh in my house… Okay I love play-doh, my husband probably sees the gigantic mess it makes. Play-doh is a wonderful mindfulness activity. The children start to focus on how the dough feels in their hands, envisioning the creation they are making, and are fully present in developing their creation. I sometimes splurge and buy the scented play-doh for an even fuller mindfulness experience.

Cloud gazing: I absolutely love laying down and looking at the sky with my kiddos. We will talk about the different shapes, what it looks like, and let our imaginations run wild. It’s a great way to be fully present in your surroundings while also calming your body. We sometimes go outside for bubbles and trampoline jumping and finish with laying on the trampoline and exploring the sky.

These are all simple activities, but are proven to help reduce anxiety and calm the body. Many adults practice mindfulness through meditation, journaling and yoga, but forget that children need mindfulness in their lives, too. Children also experience Sunday Scaries just like us adults. A bit of slowing down is just what the entire family needs to help alleviate the back to school/work anxiety.   

If you feel your child needs help managing anxiety or stress, contact us to learn more about how child counseling can help.