Headspace and Google have teamed up to launch a new resource for families and educators interested in practicing mindfulness with their young children.
Headspace Breathers, a weekly video series led by children’s mindfulness expert Samantha Snowden, will lead viewers through “practical and creative exercises and tips” for teaching children and parents how to recognize, communicate, and manage emotions, according to a Tuesday press release. The videos hope to address the added stress of digital learning, social distancing, and increased screen time at home.
The first video in the series, published March 16, finds Snowden introducing the concept of recognizing and communicating one’s emotions. Alongside kid-friendly animations, Snowden talks directly to viewers and engages with families through video calls as they model mindfulness activities and answer questions about emotions together. “Being able to say how you are feeling in all kinds of situations keeps you from running negative storylines through your head,” Snowden explains to the viewer. “But more importantly, it can help you accept the present moment and balance your responses to it.”
The video provides techniques for both kids and their families — for instance, “fishbowl feeling practice,” in which children pick emotions out of a bowl and try to remember a time they felt that way — as well as advice to parents. The video also shares the voices of actual children discussing the hardest part of living and learning during the pandemic.
Snowden makes clear to parents watching that “emotions are not a problem to solve.” Instead, they should let children reflect and make space for difficult emotions.
Google published an analysis of search trends in 2020 that showed users were aware of the “unique challenge” parents face raising children today. “How much screen time should a child have?” was a trending question, and searches for “learning at home” and “kids mindfulness” reached all-time highs last year.
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According to a press release from Headspace, the series hopes to teach families about “balancing your child’s emotions, balancing screen time, helping kids focus, dealing with separation from loved ones and friends, and finding positivity.”
At the same time, Google announced its new Google Families website, a resource hub for parents wanting to learn more about their child’s technology use, from navigating screen time to online safety and learning activities. The site includes information from a variety of media and childhood education groups that make up Google’s “family partners,” including Headspace, PBS KIDS, and Sesame Workshop. The website will continue adding information and features over the coming weeks.
Headspace Breathers will be uploaded weekly to the Headspace Breathers playlist on YouTube, as well as Google’s newly launched families.google webpage.