When in comes to creating daily mindfulness habits in your children’s lives, one powerful practice is to think out of the box and turn everyday activities into opportunities to teach mindfulness.
A awesome place to do this is at the dinner table!
Mindfulness means paying full attention to something – with no distraction. It’s staying in the moment and noticing our thoughts and how we feel (both physically and emotionally). Being mindful means taking our time and staying relaxed. And you and your family can practice this at the beginning of your meal with the “5 Senses” Mindful Eating Exercise.
I teach this exercise in my webinar, 5 Ways to Use Mindfulness and Meditation to Improve Your Child's Happiness, Focus, and Confidence . And, today, I decided to pull that excerpt from the teaching and share it here with you.
(BTW, sign up here to be notified the next time I teach a free mindfulness for children class.)
In the video below you’ll find my 3 minute lesson on the “5 Senses” Mindful Eating Exercise.
Or, read on, to learn more!
“5 Senses” Mindful Eating Exercise
In this exercise you are going to encourage children to remain present and in the moment by drawing upon their five senses while they take small, intentional bites.
First, ask what they SEE.
What color is it? What shape is it? What stands out?
Next, how does the food FEEL?
When they hold it in their hand, what does it feel like? Is it soft or hard? Squishy or rough?
What do they HEAR?
Does it make any sounds? What about if they squeeze it between their fingers?
How would they describe the SMELL?
Sweet? Citrusy? Pungent? What else?
Next, invite your child to close their eyes as they explore TASTE.
After putting the food in their mouth, before they chew, what is the first thing they taste? Is sweet or salty? Sour or savory? When they bite into it, did it make a sound?
As they start to chew, have them chew slowly. And before they swallow, think about the change in flavor, texture and sounds. Does it change the longer they chew?
Encourage children to slow down while they eat and begin to understand the mind-body connection a bit more. Invite them to think about where their food comes from – you can discuss and reflect on the process of growing that one apple, catching that fish, harvesting that rice, or baking that slice of bread. Where did it come from? What nutrients does it contain? How do those nutrients fuel them to play and learn.
FAMILY BONUS: This can also be a good time to discover new foods as a family.
Now, I know that some kids are quite persnickety when it comes to what they are willing to eat. But if your child is up for it, once a week, during a family meal, try out a new food item, and practice mindful eating with it.
This practice can start while grocery shopping together. Have your child choose a fruit or vegetable that they’ve never tried and include it with the family meal or for a snack. The key is, with this item, you must practice mindful eating for the first few bites.
And this is a good time to say, only practice mindful eating with the first couple of bites. Just as a start to the meal. After that, feel free to eat regularly.
So there it is! The “5 Senses” Mindful Eating exercise.
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