We all want our children to be happy, healthy and successful in whatever they do. Teaching your child how to meditate can give them a jumpstart to start accessing the many benefits of meditation.

A World Health Organization (WHO) report, that was released last year, says that one in four early teens in India suffers from one or the other mental health issue and depression tops the list. A quarter of children between the age group of 13-15 years suffer from depression. The National Mental Health Survey 2015-16 (NMHS), conducted by National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore emphasizes that 9.8 million teenagers in the age group of 13-17 years suffer depression and other mental health disorders and are in need of active intervention. The study also found that the prevalence of adolescent depression is highest in metro cities as compared to small towns and rural India. And these mental health issues do not necessarily start from the age group of 12 or 13 years, but it begins at an early age which keeps brewing till they turn adolescents.

As a child specialist in the Holistic and Alternative therapy, I come across many teenagers and children facing issues that directly impact their mental health and in turn affect their overall life. In fact, 30 -40 per cent of adults suffering from depression had a history of depression during middle school and adolescent years.

Hence, it is imperative that your children are guided towards tools that can help them to cope up with the emotional challenges. Meditation is a very effective tool which if used and practised from childhood will help in empowering and enhancing your childs life in many ways such as-

Healthy emotional development Kids who practice regular meditation are emotionally stronger, happier and more relaxed, have less temper or mood tantrums as well.

More self aware to make right choices Meditation creates self-awareness even at such young ages as during meditation the kids can analyze an action that they may have taken and check if it was right or wrong. With this kind of awareness, they will grow up to be more conscientious and have greater sense of understanding.

More compassionate and higher self-esteem Meditation among kids helps in developing higher levels of confidence and resilience, they are more connected to self and respectful of others and display good decision making and pro-social behaviour.

Better focus and memory Meditation not only changes brain patterns that enhances memory but also heightens mental focus and clarity which improves the cognitive performance.

Above are just a few of the benefits of meditation that have been listed but there are innumerable benefits that your children can avail for life, if as a parent you make them practice meditation regularly.

When meditation is done with the help of a professional, it becomes more effective since the help and guidance of such individuals helps the child to learn and practice meditation and turn it into a way of life. As an International Meditation Expert, I encourage and recommend all the parents to get your child not only acquainted to Meditation but also make Meditation a regular family fun activity. It doesnt have to be boring or uninteresting activity; the way I do it is by making it so much fun for them that the children yearn for doing it on a regular basis.

It is much easier to build stronger children than repair broken adults!

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

Read more:
Why your child should meditate and become mindful! - Times of India