Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere

My 3-year-old enjoys this and has a few breathing exercises he consistently chooses at bedtime, which made establishing a calming routine feel very natural. It’s been a useful way to help him understand how breathing can help him work through big feelings. A solid, age-appropriate option for introducing mindfulness to young kids.

Nine months ago our 3 kids moved in with us (now ages 4, 6, and 8) and we finalized the adoption a couple months ago. They have been through immense trauma and have made incredible progress, but we still sometimes struggle with helping them to calm down from anxiety, fear, anger, and manic episodes. We have tried so many techniques but this seems to be the one that consistently works and here is why I think that's the case: 1. Each meditation is bite-sized. The brevity makes it seem more do-able to my kids even when they are extremely dysregulated. 2. The illustrations are engaging, inviting, pleasant to look at, colorful. 3. The imagery in each meditation makes it easy for kids to focus on their senses - for example, holding a candle or a cup of hot chocolate. 4. There are enough meditations to choose from that the kids can easily find one they feel like doing in any given moment without it being the same thing every time. 5. Even though I'm the one reading it to them and making them do it, it helps that the instructions are coming from a third party (the book) so that it's not just Boring Mom and Dad telling them what to do. We have mainly used this book in two ways. One is as a transition from our bedtime routine into getting in bed. We have them turn on their flashlights and sit in bed and we turn off the overhead light. Then we read one or two of the meditations for relaxing and we all do it together. After that we are able to turn off their flashlights and have them lay down for reading time. It sets the tone for bedtime and the kids really love it. The other way we have used the book is when one of the kids is really dysregulated. Our 8yo gets into manic episodes where she laughs hysterically, pushes her sisters, breaks every rule, etc and for the life of me I could not figure out a way to get her out of this mode. The other day when she was in one of these modes, I pulled her aside and had her do a few "be calm" meditations from the book with me and like magic she was a functioning child again. We also used it with our 6yo when she got into a spiraling tantrum where she just got herself into more and more and more trouble and couldn't stop. I told her she could earn back the privileges she had lost if she did a few meditations with me, and she just kept wanting to do more of them even after she had earned it back already. It really helped calm her and turn things around. I'm sure there are a ton of ways to use this that we haven't taken advantage of yet. But so far just in these two different use cases it's been extremely helpful.

Excellent book! My second-graders loved the breathing exercises included and we used them all the time in class. Some parents even told me at conferences that their kids taught them these techniques at home! Whether you're a teacher, a parent, or even an anxious adult who enjoys the whimsical, you'll love this book. I'm also for sure going to use it with my own future children!

Perfect to read just a few at a time, practice them together. We do them in public alot when my son needs to calm down. He is 4.5 and enjoys reading the book, doing the activities, and can use them to calm down when directed. He struggles (although not often) with being easily overwhelmed, anxious, and upset. When he encounters a situation that upsets him, he works himself up until he can't even talk. These quickly calm him back down. This is exactly what we needed! We were on a vacation when he had panic attack at a fun "experience" that was about $50 per person due to overwhelming visuals and noises. He had been so excited to go, and had been talking about it for weeks. But ended up spending less than 10 minutes inside, and wouldn't go back in. It breaks my heart that we didnt have this book before then because I think he reasonably knows that certain things arent real but in the moment cant cope. There are SO many exercises in this book to help with SO many situations. This is the handbook that parents of sensitive kiddos need. Taking a moment to calm down can be fun. And other pages include instructions on how to "send positive thoughts" and other important conversation starters for little ones.

This book is good for kids.

I had low expectations that my 4 year old would be interested in this book. I was pleasantly surprised when he actually did enjoy it. We started by sitting reading them and casually doing some of the exercises. He stayed engaged because of the beautiful illustrations and how wonderfully the book is written. Pretty soon we were really doing the breathing exercises and having fun. They are easy to remember how to do and very useful. Of course he is too young to think to do them on his own. When he is upset about something and I ask him if he wants to do them as of now he always says no BUT after I start doing them on my own he gladly joins and after a few minutes he's giggly and smiley again. I can actually say that it really does help but it depends on your approach as every child is different. I picked the ones I knew he'd enjoy first and kind of tweaked others of them.

My daughter, Allure Wilson (8 years old), loved acting out the mindfulness exercises. Her favorites were Bear Breath, Hot Chocolate, Tree, Wave on Water, and Rainstorm. She said it’s hard to choose because “the book is very good.” Wonderful for calm moments! LaTonya & Allure Wilson

Great book for teaching mindfulness and self regulation. Love the breathing exercises. The colorful pages engage the children very well. Recommended to me by our behavioral therapist.

Bought this for my son. He is quite peaceful but has tantrums once in a while, like everyone else. We read it and did the exercises and he tries it when he gets upset. I love the practical examples of the hot chocolate or the candle. Great book!

I cannot tell you how impressed I am with these books. All the books have a moral lesson, bit like Aesop's Fables. Twelve books in the series and I bought them all. With the impending birth of my first Great Grandchild I wanted to leave a legacy, if you like. Beautifully illustrated and written, each book stresses the importance of the last 20 minutes in the day, when you read to your child before bed, snuggled together, breathing together, ensuring security and the feeling of great love and kindness in a spirit of mindfulness. The books engender kindness to ourselves and others.

Beautiful ideas to make relaxation breathing exercises fun and easy for young kids

I just love books aimed at mindfulness for children’s and this one is particularly lovely. My son is autistic and it’s hard to get him to relax sometimes but relating to animals is a good technique to get him to focus and just pause for a few moments. We often look at a page before bedtime and there are some lovely ideas for winding down, practising calm breathing techniques and de-stressing from any worries you may have. A lovely book that would help any child connect with their inner calm :)

Wow