I was surprised, and not in a good way, to hear my six-year-old daughter say, "I'm pretty much always shy," to a friend the other day. I asked her about it, and turns out she was really listening those times that I would say, "She's just a little shy," when she wouldn't respond to a new person who said hello. (When the truth was she just didn't feel like speaking to someone she'd never seen before in her life, and I was just trying to fill the silence.) After we talked about it a bit--and I apologized for labeling her as shy--she agreed with me that she's not shy in the slightest. But it got me thinking about how kids can internalize self-statements very early on, and how we adults can affect those statements. And it made me realize how important it is that we try to ensure that kids' beliefs about themselves are positive.
Many adult yoga classes include positive affirmations, or encourage students to set a positive intention at the beginning of the practice. Not to get all New Age-y, if people even use that term any more, but it's never too early to introduce kids to the power of positive thinking. Making a positive statement or affirmation creates a sort of subconscious programming, which can be an important self-esteem booster for a child. We are what we think--so whether in the setting of a yoga practice or not, encouraging healthy, positive self-beliefs in children will create healthy adults.
In the beginning of my kids' yoga class, I ask the children to sit comfortably and quietly while I sing "I sit, I breathe, I am...." I ask them to silently fill in the blank after "I am" with something good about themselves. Sometimes we'll discuss it afterward and I'll ask if anyone would like to share. Some typical responses: "I'm a good baker," "I will help my mom pick up," and "I'm a kind person." All good!
--Try the song above at home with your child. Make up any melody that feels good to you. Don't worry how it sounds; kids don't care about perfect pitch. Ask your child to fill in the blank with a good thought about herself, and you do the same. Ask if she wants to talk about it afterward. This can be a great way to learn something new about your child!
--Include some simple, fun affirmations in your yoga play with your child--in mountain pose, call out: "I am strong!" In tree pose: "I stand tall!"
