This week, I have had the privilege of parenting an (almost) 5-year-old with the most distaste for the world and anything that means “listening to the man”.

Shoes no longer belonged on feet, school was the most boring place in the world and anything I asked him to do was met with a resounding chorus of “I’m not your slave” but instead of hiding in my closet and drinking wine (which I definitely contemplated) together, my son and I used some grounding techniques, did some mindful activities, discussed why certain tasks are important (even though we don’t want to do them) whilst encouraging him to never lose his ‘voice’ in this world.

I had a discussion with a friend (Hettie) who runs The Little Yoga Warrior and she has lovingly shared her five top tips to encourage mindfulness in children;

1. Allow to explore and get messy. When outside in the mud, painting, crafting, it's half about the sensory experience and also focusing solely on something they are working on.

2. Encourage mindfulness with daily quiet time. This allows children to notice the world around them more, whether this quiet time is on a walk, listening to nature around them or even in the car with the windows down and no radio on, watching the world go by.

3. Breathe exercises, we learn a lot of breath practices in our yoga classes but these are simple to learn and take home with you. It could be anything from counting your breath in and out, to the sides of a square or using your breath to blow a feather across the room. Noticing how we breath can be useful in connecting to how we feel on the inside.

4. Noticing our emotions. A huge topic and several ways to encourage this with children, one simple way is to simply draw faces and ask them to note each emotion. Recognising and being mindful of how we feel and being able to label those emotions is so incredibly valuable to life.

5. Positive affirmations, there are card packs, social media posts, affirmation resources everywhere we look these days and so once you have some in your own head, speak them to your children and repeat them often! "You are brave!" "You are beautiful!" Let them feel mindful of themselves, feel self-worth and feel self-love.

Hettie runs classes around Cornwall for children, teaching Yoga & Mindfulness. If you would like to book one of her classes, please head over to The Little Yoga Warrior on Instagram and Facebook.