Stability Sip : Kiddoes Morning Cuppa! ☕
Practices like meditation, mindful breathing, and grounding exercises are invaluable tools in fostering this stability, benefiting both children and adults alike as mutual stabilizers.
A simple yet effective way to begin is dedicating a few minutes each morning to sitting quietly on the floor. (For children who find sitting on the floor uncomfortable due to health reasons, a stable wooden stool is a practical alternative, ensuring durability and comfort over less stable materials like plastic).
Navigating through the chaotic morning routine with a child who may resist waking up or express frustration can be challenging, but some simple strategies can ease the transition for both of you. Maintaining a calm and patient demeanor is crucial; mornings are often rushed, but reacting with empathy rather than frustration can prevent escalation. Acknowledge and validate your child’s feelings if they resist waking up, showing reluctance, or expressing emotions like crying, kicking or slouching. Offer gentle prompts and choices that empower them, such as selecting clothes or breakfast options, which can help alleviate resistance.
Creating a positive environment with gentle sounds of cow bells or wind chimes, comforting scents, and engaging voices of loved ones sets a soothing tone. Establishing clear morning routines and preparing ahead the night before — organizing clothes and school items — minimizes stress. Connect with your child before the rush with a hug or kind words, gentle massage, me time, a kiss, three magical words( I love you) will boost their confidence and sets a positive tone. Throughout the morning, offer encouragement and praise, reinforcing their efforts and promoting a smoother routine.
Remember, don’t ever summon them with blaring alarms, harsh lights, abrupt fan switches, or by tugging their blankets. And definitely avoid the dreaded full-name shout! Starting their day gently can make all the difference in setting a positive tone for the morning routine. You don't wish to be kicked out of the bed by your spouse! after all :)
Waking up an hour before school bus provides ample time for a calm and unhurried start to the day. The first 15 minutes often involve navigating through initial frustrations and common resistance to waking up, such as “just one more minute,” “I hate school,” “I’m tired,” “I had a nightmare,” “I didn’t sleep well,” “I’m feeling unwell,” “I haven’t done my homework,” “leg cramp,” “growing pains,” and Phew! plethora of other reasons!
Once up and through that, children may spend the next 15 minutes adjusting and waking up further, sometimes even dozing off again in the washroom. Following this, another 15 minutes may be spent sitting quietly on the ground, still looking at ways to skip school or grounding themselves before proceeding to have breakfast.
What comes next in the last 15 mins to school? Youtube, dreaming about lollies, catching up with the leftover snore, and cursing the bullies at school, neighborhood or teachers? Ha ha, definitely not!
Children can instead start their day by sitting on the ground all dressed up until sock and with their just-opened eyes closing again to wake up bright. Encourage them to focus on a positive quote, visualizing a calming scene, or simply observing their breath, akin to the stability evoked by sounds of water or birds. This practice helps them become aware of each inhale and exhale, letting go of any tension or distractions. Meditation isn’t solely about spirituality or clearing the mind but about observing thoughts without judgment and staying present. It boosts emotional resilience, diminishes stress, and enhances concentration throughout the day. In some households, children are shown first thing in the morning the symbols of stability such as Sky, Sun, their own reflection in the mirrors, which symbolize constancy and stability.
This approach to starting the day is grounded in practicality and relatability, recognizing the real challenges of morning routines while offering effective strategies to navigate them with ease and positivity. Such practises helps in easing into the day with stability and a sense of readiness for the activities ahead. By fostering inner stability and a calm morning environment, both children and adults can cultivate resilience and well-being, setting a positive tone for the day ahead.
Screen Sanity: Start Your Day Distraction-Free!
Avoiding distractions like phones or screens for first one hour in the morning is crucial for maintaining stability, especially for children. Phones are not constants; they disrupt thoughts and connections. Excessive screen time can be likened to the experience of someone navigating through a foggy haze after consuming too much alcohol. Just as alcohol can impair judgment and clarity, spending too much time on screens can cloud our ability to focus and process information effectively. Like trying to make decisions or navigate in a foggy state, excessive screen use can leave us feeling disoriented, mentally sluggish, and less able to maintain a clear perspective on our tasks and priorities. Both scenarios highlight the impact of overindulgence on our mental clarity and ability to function optimally in daily life. In some places soon, On the boards of “No Drunken Driving” will be replaced by “No Driving Under the Influence of Phones.” :)
Well we don’t give a glass of a beer in the child’s hand every morning before school, would we?? Then why give phone??
This lack of stability makes it challenging for children to focus and maintain emotional balance throughout the day.
By starting the day without screens, children can preserve their mental clarity and emotional stability. This intentional screen-free time allows them to reconnect with themselves and their surroundings, fostering a sense of calm and inner peace. It’s about creating a grounded environment where they can center their thoughts and emotions before engaging with the digital world. This practice supports their well-being and helps them navigate daily challenges with greater resilience and clarity.
Screens are crucial for various activities like work, learning, and entertainment, if someone ever tells me, “My kids never touch phones, and we have a strict screen cut-off,” well, thank you for the humble brag! 😊 But I’m not buying it! It’s like cats sipping milk with their eyes shut, thinking they’re not drinking at all.
Like many families, everyone of us heavily rely on screens, but recognizing the importance of balancing screen time with intentional periods of disconnection is very important.
Creating a screen-free environment during the first hour of our day or the child’s day is a huge bonus. It allows to cultivate inner peace and reflection. This stable morning routine sets a positive tone for the day ahead by helping us ground ourselves mentally and emotionally. It’s not about completely eliminating screen use but about using it mindfully and prioritizing moments of stability and calm before diving into the digital world.
This intentional practice helps us maintain a healthy relationship with screens, ensuring that they enhance our lives without overwhelming us. It gives us the stability to start our day with clarity and focus, ready to tackle whatever challenges come our way. By incorporating this routine into our daily lives, we find that we are better able to navigate the demands of modern life while maintaining a sense of inner peace and balance
Before beginning the big run, marathoners and runners don’t warm up on a trampoline; instead, they choose solid ground. Why? Because ground provides the strength and stability necessary for their long runs. How less of a Marathon is our child’s day or is our own? Don’t we all deserve warm ups on solid grounding instead of the bouncy distraction of screens?
A recommendation that is often over looked or Less talked about?
(This recommendation is universally applicable to all humans around the world) — like a fitness plan for your mind! Anyone and everyone, regardless of race, gender, age, caste, religion or origin, can benefit from incorporating these practices into their daily routine. It’s like mental push-ups that everyone can do to strengthen their clarity, focus, and emotional resilience. So, let’s all flex those mindfulness muscles and start our day right!
Of the various forms of stability, one that is often overlooked is stability through music — a way to strengthen mental resilience musically. One does not need to be a good vocalist for this! All that you need is a voice.
More so for the kiddoes practicing stability routines with adults provides added support and guidance to run the marathon of a life.
Singing constant musical notes like “Sa” and “Pa” in Indian classical music, or their equivalents in Western music while listening to calming instruments like the tambura, can significantly enhance stability and mindfulness. In Indian classical music, “Sa” is equivalent to the tonic or root note, providing a stable foundation, while “Pa” is the perfect fifth, adding a sense of completeness and harmony. In both Carnatic and Western music, “Sa” and “Pa” serve as fundamental notes that remain constant in pitch and identity across different octaves and contexts. These notes provide a stable foundation within their respective scales, offering a sense of reliability and continuity in musical compositions. This constancy allows musicians to build melodies and harmonies around them confidently, ensuring coherence and harmony in the music. Beyond their musical significance, “Sa” and “Pa” symbolize a reassuring and unwavering presence, which the brain instinctively seeks to hear in the morning for a sense of stability and calm.
When practiced together with children, these musical exercises not only help them develop a deeper sense of stability and mindfulness but also offer adults a grounding experience. Sitting on the ground with eyes closed during these practices amplifies the grounding effect, fostering inner calm and a good connection with oneself.
Incorporating these stability techniques into daily routines benefits both children and adults, enhancing mental clarity, emotional well-being, and resilience. By nurturing inner stability from the start of the day, we empower ourselves and our children to approach challenges with greater calmness, focus, and purpose. This practice strengthens our inner micro systems, allowing us to engage more meaningfully with the world around us and fostering a harmonious balance between our external and internal lives.
Do try and let me know!
