Yep, we said ‘kids’ and ‘meditation’ in the same sentence. Stay with us.

Just like grown-ups, kids who have been busy playing/learning/causing a raucous need time to wind down their bodies, and their minds, at the end of the day. Which is why a calming bedtime routine for your little humans, that begins well before they’re being tucked in, can be so important. (More on that here!)

But what you might not have considered (or what you might have written off as ‘too hard, can’t be done, a total fantasy’ is building a little meditation practice into your nightly bath-to-bed – to help reduce stress and set up your kid for a smooth transition into sleep.

If your two-year-old is ready for 20 minutes of transcendental meditation, outstanding! You should probably stop reading this blog now. But if your child has the attention span of a gnat, then there are some (infinitely more) simple and doable things you can try…

Create calm where you can…

Some evenings time just slips away and you’re rushing to get the chicken nugget remnants out of their hair before crashing into bed. But when you can, try to kick off the bedtime routine early, so you’ve got time to slow things down. Make sure their room is dimly lit, with just a soft lamp or nightlight, and if you’re playing music, keep it chill and acoustic-y. Once they’re in bed, encourage your child to turn their busy mind into chatter. Ask them if there are any leftover thoughts that they want to discuss with you. Let it all out!

Practice mindful breathing…

Slow, easy breathing can be incredibly calming. You can start breathing mindfully with your baby when they are tiny (you might find it helps to soothe you more in these early months), but by around age two, your child should be able to start engaging in more intentional breathing exercises. Start by keeping it playful – you might try blowing bubbles in the bath, or exhaling with animal noises (a hiss! a huff! a growl!), or have them rest a soft toy on their belly so they can watch it go up and down with each breath. Or, you could use a video like this one to guide you through some inhales and exhales. Don’t force it – just gently encourage them to bring attention to their breath. If bedtime stories are part of your nightly put-down, this delightful book tells the story of an anxious little bird who gets in quite a flap, until he learns how to breeeathe.

Make storytime more meditative…

You might already read a book at bedtime. You might read five! You can turn storytime into a guided meditation of sorts. Make your child feel like they are participating by giving them a choice: offer them a book, or a recorded story (like one of these!), or ask them if they’d prefer for you to tell them a tale. Not sure you have what it takes to tell a ripper story on the fly? We love all these tips. You can create a meditation out of storytime by taking it slow, keeping your voice low and soothing, and being extra descriptive. Think: lots of (tedious) detail. About everything.

Doze off to a guided meditation…

Having your child lay down in bed while you guide them through a meditation with your voice, can be a beautiful way for you both to connect and unwind. Not sure where to start? We love this guided meditation, which combines visualisation and relaxation techniques to prepare your kid for sleep. (You are not allowed to nod off. Sorry.) If your toddler is a bit more resistant or not quite ready, it can be a good idea to play a guided meditation in the background while your kid goes about the last steps in their bedtime routine. Without making a point of it, it can gradually become something that makes them feel safe and comforted.

Remember that meditation often needs a bit of practice, so if it’s not a hit on night one, stay patient and stick with it. Eventually, you might find it becomes the part of bedtime that your little snoozecats enjoy most.