Amazing (And Free!) Resources for Kids

In wanting to learn everything there is in the natural and alternative world about how to improve my health and life (I’ve still got some learning to do), I of course frequently consider how these tools can improve my kiddos’ lives.

I firmly believe that the next generation is equipped with different strengths, talents, and knowledge than we have simply by the nature of being born at a different time. This also means that they will deal with new challenges and issues that might seem puzzling or mysterious to us.

There really is no way to foresee everything that is coming our kids’ way to prepare them. And anyway, even if we could, we can’t load them with all the answers simply because their answers will look totally different than our answers.

Something I can do as a parent to help my kids is to introduce them to a tool box of techniques. I can present them with ideas and tools and then help them to practice using those tools frequently so that in their moments of distress, confusion, anger, frustration, or loneliness, they can pull out one of these tools and exercise it themselves.

Conversations with other mama friends often lead to conversations about our kids or talking out things that our little ones are dealing with. These conversations can be so helpful both to hear similar experiences and to bounce ideas off of one another.

Sometimes it’s a matter of worrying about our kid’s nightmares, outbursts of anger, their trouble falling asleep at night, short attention spans, disinterest in what’s going on around them, digestive issues, or their frequent tears of emotion that are leading us as parents to feel concerned.

I love hearing ideas from other parents who have dealt with similar situations. What tools have they used or tried with their kids? Was it successful? Would it be something that would be valuable to try with my own kids?

Obviously this post could go on for days with lists of ideas to use with our kids, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few resources that are beautifully put together (and a couple tips of my own) and can help your child fill and practice using their tool box.

Different kids will resonate with different tools, but it’s great to help them to become familiar with what’s available and to expose them to various ideas so that they get in the habit of trying new tools and solutions.

Resources for Kids:

Cosmic Kids yoga: This is a free YouTube channel and website with an inspirational and fun English host named Jaime. She uses engaging and lively stories to demonstrate yoga poses and moves. It’s extremely easy for kids as young as toddlers to follow along and she provides many different themes, so your kiddo can choose which type of adventure they want to go on. They also vary in length, so you can choose depending on attention span or how much time you have available.

I love to do the yoga along with my kiddos and they love that it’s something we can all do together. My 7-year-old will often ask me to do a yoga video with her. Cosmic Kids also provides other resources encouraging mindfulness and creativity.

“Just Breathe” by Mallika Chopra: You may have heard of Deepak Chopra, motivator and promoter of meditation. This book is by his daughter, Mallika and it walks your child through various types of meditation. This is a beautifully illustrated book, inviting for kids, along with descriptions of how and when to use the specific exercises. She describes everything from breathing, meditation, and even taking a walk to calm your body.

To me, it seems you’d go through one exercise at a time with your kids to show how it goes and then you can revisit your favorites with them as you need them or want to practice the exercises as opposed to reading cover to cover.

doTERRA Kids’ Oil Collection: I absolutely love using oils with the kids. The scents engage their attention immediately and I know that they’re getting huge benefits from something natural and safe.

I use many oils with my kids for various issues (I sense a post about using essential oils with kids coming up), but this kit specifically made for kids has 7 pre-diluted oil blends in roller bottles. It also comes with a flip book with simple info about each blend. This puts the authority in your kids’ hands. They get to find which oil would help them best in that moment and can apply the oil by rolling it on their skin all by themselves.

This is very simple to use and effective for everything from a fidgety bedtimes to a boost when they want to feel brave to tummy aches.

Guided Meditations: There are many of these and I would suggest the Headspace app or InsightTimer app for free kids’ meditations. Guided meditations are a relaxing and simple way for your kids to follow simple instructions while practicing mindfulness, breathing, and calming their bodies and minds. I might at some point publish some kids’ meditation, but for now, these resources have wonderfully produced recorders available.

I will also briefly mention Muse Meditation, which is a headband your kiddo can wear while they practice meditating. Muse senses your brain activity and it provides real-time feedback on how your meditation is going. My kids love that it’s kind of like a game for your brain. It’s connected to an app that shows your score and awards you for calm brain activity during your meditation through audio stimulus. This is a very cool addition to our tool box for our whole family.

Remove the junk: This one doesn’t take any outside resource, just a shift in eating. I highly, HIGHLY recommend removing sugar, artificial additives, and food colorings from your kids’ diet. I’ve come to terms that I am kind of the candy Grinch. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE baking and eating goodies with the kids and we have our share of delicious treats, but we do try to avoid candy and pre-packaged sweets as much as possible. This will be a shift and it WILL be worth it.

Holidays especially took a little maneuvering. Halloween for example, we for sure still trick-or-treat and fill our buckets. The kids eat a few candies the night of and pick out a treat for their lunches for the next couple days. Aside from that, we buy the rest of their candy from them and they can use the money to buy a toy or something else they’ve been wanting. We can tell immediately and for the next couple hours when our kids have had junk. We also say that if we ate that way all of the time (like the majority of our country), we would just assume our kids were tantrumy, and emotional by nature. When it’s occasional, we can easily see the contrast in their behavior and emotions.

Validate their feelings: Help your kids to vocalize what they’re feeling and let them know that those feelings are completely normal. Start them at a young age to feel their feelings rather than suppressing and covering them up.

Sometimes this takes a few extra minutes at bedtime or before school. Saying things like, “I feel mad sometimes too,” or “When I’m sad, I feel tired and I feel a lump in my throat. How about you? What does your body feel like when you’re sad?” can help them to learn to understand what they’re feeling and to not be confused by new emotions.

Conversations like this can help them to process the emotion much faster and more effectively, adding another tool that they’ll use for the rest of their life.

Alright! Those are my helpful (and free!) resources for your kiddos.

We’ve had the most success practicing these tools when things are calm and uplifting. We try to keep it fun and we practice them together. The idea is that just like an athlete working out day after day so that they can perform better during the actual game, you and your kids are practicing the motions, building mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual muscles so that in a moment of chaos and frazzled emotions, these tools are familiar and effective.

Have you had success with any of these tools?! I’d love to hear your experience.