The age-old proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” holds profound significance today as ongoing research highlights its importance. Initiatives that integrate practices fostering resilience, self-awareness, and effective stress management are increasingly embraced in both educational settings and extracurricular activities, including sports and play.
Both educators and associated professionals are recognizing the advantages of incorporating mindfulness in schools and the necessity of working collaboratively with parents, teachers, and coaches.
Mindfulness in Educational Settings
Heidi Bornstein, an educator who co-founded a successful mindfulness initiative for adolescents, created the program in response to a local Toronto school where students sought help for stress and anxiety. The initiative’s effectiveness prompted the school to incorporate it into its grade 11 leadership curriculum.
This approach aligns with suggestions from the Ontario Ministry of Education, which published the Foundations for a Healthy School guide in December 2014. This resource proposes activities and strategies like social-emotional learning and resilience development, which mindfulness can enhance, according to the ministry.
Feedback from students confirms its positive impact. One of Bornstein’s students shared, “I discovered how to be present rather than ruminate on the past or future. A key takeaway was that it’s perfectly acceptable to slow down and take things at my own pace.”
Working with children of various ages, Katie Thom, a school psychologist and educator from Winnipeg, employs diverse methodologies. She has observed significant benefits in her students, including better self-awareness, improved social skills, enhanced emotional well-being, and fewer behavioural issues.
She recalls, “A particularly moving comment I received from a student with developmental challenges was, ‘I learned to be comfortable in my own skin; being myself is okay.’”
Thom emphasizes that mindfulness programs should always be framed as an invitation for children rather than imposed upon them. “The focus is on empowerment, rather than merely managing behaviour.”
Mindfulness for Parents and Teachers
Bornstein asserts that mindfulness practices can also help educators and parents achieve balance in their lives, thus allowing them to provide essential social and emotional support to children.
Similarly, parents can benefit. “Mindfulness facilitates the ability to be fully engaged with children and teens during both joyful moments and challenging ones. It nurtures self-awareness and self-regulation of instinctual responses, fostering compassion for oneself and others,” adds Bornstein.
Thom concurs and believes that involving parents and caregivers is crucial to her efforts. She often encourages parents and teachers to participate in mindfulness training through courses or group studies.
Mindfulness in Sports
Philip Sackey is a father and soccer coach with a deep commitment to youth development through sports. He understands the profound impact a mindful coach can have on an individual player as well as the overall performance and resilience of a team.
“Adopting a holistic perspective enables coaches and teams to prioritize long-term goals while learning from immediate setbacks,” Sackey observes. “By nurturing individual players, we enhance the entire team, embodying the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
He emphasizes that if a coach isn’t centered and aware of their own state, they may overlook the mindset of their players and team, potentially leading to suboptimal outcomes.
Outdated communication methods often rely on fear or aggression, negatively impacting children’s experience in a sport intended for enjoyment and healthy competition, which can adversely affect team morale and overall performance.
Sackey advocates for a supportive communication style that uplifts young players. “The manner in which a coach interacts with athletes is crucial to the dynamics between coach, player, and team. A skilled coach can elevate a player and team significantly, while a careless comment can have devastating effects.”
To promote positive reinforcement, he employs a method called the IPP (improvement, positive, positive) strategy:
- Improvement: “You might achieve better results if you try it this way.”
- Positive: “You did well to recognize the situation.”
- Positive: “Great job!”
Sackey notes that communication should be tailored to developmental stages, always seeking opportunities for positive engagement.
Mindfulness practices have rapidly gained traction, offering valuable tools for families and communities to foster a healthy, cohesive environment that benefits both children and adults alike.
