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Connecting at an Early Age: Meditation for Children

Ask The Spiritual Explorer

Dear Spiritual Explorer: At what age is it appropriate to teach a child to meditate and what does that meditation consist of? Gene Adams, Eugene, OR

Meditation for Children

Dear Gene: How many of us know of the myriad of children coming from dysfunctional families and struggling the rest of their lives with the emotional legacies that become their destinies?? Author Deborah Rozman thinks she might have part of the solution. She thinks meditation should begin when the baby is born. In her New Age Children’s Book, Meditation for Children, for the first year one of the parents should hold the child as he/she meditates, thus instilling at a very young time a feeling of quiet and peace for the child. While this might sound eccentric and New Age to some, how many of us remember how we still recall the discord and disharmony in our environments when we were very young and later came to believe that it influenced the rest of our lives?

It is the profound belief of Ms.Rozman that a meditating family provides at a very early age a spiritual center for the child as opposed to one where children just drift unconsciously through life and look outside themselves for gratification, stimulus, approval and energy. In a very creative fashion, Rozman constructs meditations for three to five year olds, six to ten, eleven to fifteen, etc. In this book we are reminded of the importance of promoting a developing concentration by meditation in young minds, thus enabling children to be able to problem solve for themselves in their lives.

Kids' First Mandalas

With an eye to developing the inward awareness and consciousness of a child, group and family meditations and yoga exercises are described. This is a caring and thoughtful book by a spiritual woman attempting to instill the benefits of spirituality for her youngsters with a mind to assuring that parents also have a peaceful atmosphere in their lives with the inclusion of children. It is an enlightened book for those who wish the very best for their family and their children through meditation for children

Part of the disciplining of the “outward” mind might be another New Age Children’s Book called Kids’ First Mandalas illustrated by Johannes Rosengarten. Mandalas are repetitive designs within a circle reputed to quiet the mind through the repetition of coloring graceful and flowing spheres within lines. They were originally designed to develop concentration on a design that eventually brings the mind to a one-pointed focus. As shown in the New Age Children’s Book, Meditation for Children, it apparently is never too early to teach a child concentration and focus. Enormously valuable for parents anxious for children to while away the time on a trip and fun and educational too.

Coloring Mandalas by Susanne F. Fincher

Another wonderful book on mandalas is Coloring Mandalas: For Insight, Healing & Self-Expression by Susanne F. Fincher. In this book are 438 drawings for coloring which include designs inspired by forms of nature, Native American and Tibetan sand paintings, Hindu yantras, Turkish mosaics and art by Hildegard of Bingen and M.C. Escher. This book is a cornucopia of delight to complement meditation for children.

Come on, parents, give your children a fighting chance in this world. Give them the opportunity with meditation to connect within themselves as early as you can and let them have the chance to develop the wisdom that for most of us was hard to come by. Let us give our children a chance for peace! Thanks for writing this provocative question, Gene

If you have a question you would like to ask, send me your question. Ask The Spiritual Explorer