Dr. Karla Rivera is a district-wide psychologist here in Irvington. She is here to provide support for children and families as we face these challenging times.

Mindfulness has wonderful benefits for the emotional health of children. Helping children to be present in the moment and self-aware helps them to understand and regulate their feelings, develop self-control, and to make good decisions for themselves. Here are a few easy activities for children to try at home from Angela Pruess of Parents With Confidence: 

• Practice kind thoughts by asking your child to think of five people they’d like to send kind wishes to.

• Pretend to blow bubbles in slow motion, taking in a deep breath through the nose to fill the bubble and out through the mouth as slow as possible.

• Tune into the body by getting down on your child’s level and feeling each other’s heartbeats.

• Have a “mindful” snack by talking about the smell, tastes and texture of the food.

• Explore textures in nature; take a walk to collect several different objects and observe and describe how each one feels.

• Explore smell by inviting your child to help cook a meal while taking notice of each smell present.

• Try “buddy breathing” and invite your child to place a stuffed animal or toy on their tummy while they take slow, deep breaths.

• Explore gratitude by going back and forth with your child naming all the things you are grateful for.