Toddler yoga builds emotionally resilient kids.

This generation of parents are hugely invested in their child’s mental health. Perhaps more so than any generation of parents before them. We are all living through a mental health epidemic.

Recognising their own struggles with anxiety and depression, many of us are looking for help. In fact, statistically we know that adults are now more likely to be in therapy than ever before. You may be among the many who are now reflecting on the experiences of childhood and considering ways in which you may have been better supported in developing strong, emotional resilience and learning ways of coping with your feelings.

These are the adults who then came into parenthood during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced us all to look more closely at mental health. Perhaps we recognise the inadequacy of mental health provisions available in our countries, or reflect upon how much easier our lives might be if we had better coping mechanisms.

Issues of mental health have come into sharp focus for a lot of us and new parents are no exception. COVID-19 parents are particularly concerned about their child’s ability to socialise, ability to cope with stressful situations, and their ability to navigate new environments without anxiety. This kind of emotional resilience is increasingly important in new parents.

So what can we do to build emotional resilience in our kids? We know that recognising and accepting our feelings in accepting non-judgemental way has a fantastic effect. Indeed, we know how well this works in adults: it’s one of the foundations of cognitive behavioural therapy and it is exactly what we need to do with our kids.

The first step is to teach young children to pay attention to their feelings: noticing and naming their emotions is a very important part of learning how to accept them. We can help our children with this by commenting on their emotions and modelling naming them in a calm way: “wow you threw your toys across the room. Looks like you’re feeling angry right now. I wonder how that feels in your body.” Eventually your child will start naming their feelings for you, perhaps coming to you and saying “I feel sad” or responding to plans for an upcoming holiday with “excited!”

Recognising the emotions are an important first step, but how can we ensure that our children are comfortable with accepting them? It is important that we model this for them: “it’s OK to be angry. I love you whether you’re angry or happy or sad”. Showing we are comfortable with all of our child’s feelings and are happy to sit with even the difficult feelings and love them regardless is our way of proving to our children that all emotions are safe.

Toddler yoga is a wonderful way to introduce your child to the world of emotions or to build on the work you’re already doing at home. Each session is based on a storybook. Together we explore the adventures of the characters in the book and how they might feel at different parts of the story. We talk about the feelings, how those feelings are experienced in the body and some coping strategies: “how does the ugly duckling feel when everyone rejects him? He feels sad! Maybe he feels hot and he wants to cry. What can you do when you feel sad? You can give yourself a cuddle, you can go for a walk, you can talk to a friend…”

We also know that mindfulness techniques are a great way to handle different kinds of emotions. There are various different mindfulness and breathing techniques that you can start to incorporate into your daily routine with your child. The first step is to make them aware of their breath. Ask them to make a noise, a loud noise with each inhale and exhale. Perhaps you can practice dragon breathing or bee breathing together. These kinds of practices help to teach your child the different parts of their breath.

We practice various breathing techniques, suitable for your child’s age range age range in toddler yoga classes. Using breath based play we teach the children to become aware of their breath and to learn how they can manipulate and control it as a tool for managing the physical responses to their emotions. A lot of emphasis is placed on how we feel before and after practising our breathing techniques. The foundations of each breathing technique are taught to the adults in the class and they’re encouraged to practice it at home.

Mantras are another great way of internalising positive messages and developing emotional resilience in children. Made famous by religious practices all over the world, chanting mantras is known to have an impact on the mental health of adults. Studies are now emerging which show how repetition of phrases can alter the make up of the brain. Mantras can be made secular and suitable for children by adapting the phrase that is repeated. Try choosing a powerful mantra that you might recite with your child every evening. Examples include: “I am safe”, “I am loved”, “I am a good friend.”

In toddler yoga classes we practise chanting mantras. Each week a recite a mantra inspired by our story and theme. For example a week, focusing on the ugly duckling might incorporate the mantra “I am beautiful inside and out” children are encouraged to find examples throughout their day which prove their mantra to be true. Using this example I might ask them to notice different things that they do that are beautiful and that help others. We repeat the mantra together on inhale and exhale breaths, internalising the message.

Developing the emotional resilience of our children is crucially important. The generation of parents currently birthing are even more invested in the child’s emotional well-being than any generation before them. By incorporating mindfulness, breathing, and yoga practices into your play at home and even by attending toddler yoga classes, you can help support your child’s emotional development through ancient traditions, now proven through scientific study.

I spoke about this topic recently on the first time mums chat podcast. Click here to listen for yourself. I’d love it if you let me know if you found this topic inspiring and what you’ve decided to incorporate at home.