ABSTRACT
There is good evidence that children can be taught mindfulness-based programs and exercises to enhance their well-being and quality of life. This chapter presents the growing body of research on contemplative and mindfulness practices for children, which suggests that children are not only capable of learning these practices but also demonstrate social-emotional and academic growth when they are supported to use them. There are many strong and promising programs for children that combine mindfulness and social-emotional learning. The focus of this chapter is on the OpenMind (OM) programs that use a dynamic dual process approach to provide children with improved bottom-up and top-down self-regulation skills by targeting both explicit teaching, and regular and frequent contextualized practice of discrete skills. In addition, the OM programs include teacher meditation practice to increase modeling, nonjudgment and connection; a framework for modifying and scaffolding practices and activities to foster mindful engagement regardless of ability, needs or challenges; and a structured process for supporting children who are demonstrating challenging behaviors. The OM programs offer a method of teaching mindfulness-based practices to children so that they can experience school readiness, social-emotional competency, and improved quality of life.
