Recently school boards all over Ontario have been urging parents and children to think of daily actions, even small ones, for families to do everyday to support positive mental health and well-being.
We know our children are suffering from increased stress due to the pandemic, but here are the current stats:
Young Canadians have reached out to Kids Help Phone more than 4 million times in 2020 amid the pandemic, that’s up from 1.9 million in 2019.
Sick Kids recently published findings from a study on Feb 26, 2021 and “one concerning finding for the study team was the significant proportion of otherwise healthy school-aged children who experienced deterioration in a number of mental health domains, including depression (37.6 per cent), anxiety (38.7 per cent), irritability (40.5 per cent) and attention span (40.8 per cent).”
An estimated 1.2 million children and youth in Canada are affected by mental illness—yet, less than 20 per cent will receive appropriate treatment.
Now, more than ever, our kids need our presence, support and help through yoga and mindfulness. Kids yoga has had a huge surge over the past 6 years, and more kids are practicing yoga than ever before!
Even Harvard Medical School has great things to say: “Yoga and mindfulness have been shown to improve both physical and mental health in school-age children (ages 6 to 12). Yoga improves balance, strength, endurance, and aerobic capacity in children. Yoga and mindfulness offer psychological benefits for children as well. A growing body of research has already shown that yoga can improve focus, memory, self-esteem, academic performance, and classroom behavior, and can even reduce anxiety and stress in children.” -Dr. Marlynn Wei, Contributing Editor, HMS
But we need practical help, especially today.
So, what can your family realistically do?
Here are 10 FREE and SIMPLE small actions for your family to practice yoga and mindfulness throughout their day:
Practice Bunny Breath (3 short breaths in the nose, one long breath out).
Take a yoga pose such as Legs Up The Wall and watch your kids respond.
Light a real candle (let your kid light it!) and share a gratitude.
At the dinner table share your favourite moment from the day.
Go through old family photos together.
Ask everyone what their current favourite mindful activity is.
Take a walk to a local green space.
Hug a tree for 30 seconds.
Call a loved one out-of-the-blue and tell them you love them.
Turn off your phone for 24 hours. (Yes, you can do it!)
Doing these small things each day has never been more important. Let’s all get through this pandemic together.
Love,
Megan