Meditation: an alternative to Punishment for Children


Thanks to meditation, children are able to concentrate more in school; in addition, they greatly reduce their own outbursts and learn to empathize with others.

What would happen if we replaced punishment with meditation?  We have been following the same conduct correction regimen for many years now so that children learn from their mistakes.

However, the punishments have lost credibility; the children laugh when they are pushed against the wall or copy the phrase “I must not speak in class” a hundred times.

Society is advancing, people are changing, education is being updated, as are teaching methods.

The time has therefore come to resort to one of the methods that most help adults and, now, children too.

The mindfulness room

This ingenious proposal originated in a US school, the Robert W. Coleman Elementary Center. The project was carried out together with the non-profit organization  Holistic Life Foundation .

The masters were urged to resort to meditation rather than punishment.

The special room where children were sent if they did not behave well, if they did not do their homework or if they quarreled at school,  was called the ” mindfulness room   (which we could translate as “conscious moment room”).

You may be wondering how this idea could have been successful. The masters themselves doubted it.

Children are very rebellious and sitting, staying quiet and just breathing could be very boring for them. However, the results were surprising.

It was the school principal who discovered that the pupils had improved their conduct,  were less short-tempered and were able to reflect on their misconduct.

Meditation always helps us

Meditation doesn’t just involve sitting quietly and thinking.  It is much more than that. It allows us to find ourselves, to know how we are, what we are wrong about, what are our weaknesses and which are our strengths …

Meditation helps us calm down and eliminate the stress  that sometimes distresses our lives. It also takes us away from baseless anxiety and worries.

Children are also subjected to great pressure. Sometimes the anger that drives them to argue with others or rebel against the professor originates in activities they are unable to handle.

Let’s not forget that the little ones need moments of fun. They need to be trained, but constant attendance at lessons and various extracurricular activities can saturate them.

Many parents may meditate at home with their children. The problem is that they believe they have no time and do not want to learn the techniques to put this activity into practice.

However, they are unaware that this practice is necessary and particularly beneficial. It is neither a waste of time nor useless.

We say this because it takes a great deal of concentration and interest to really get to know each other.

A modern solution

We continue to give very little importance to cultivating our inner selves  and we consider stupid activities such as yoga, meditation and any activity related to our most spiritual part.

How about opening your mind to meditation?

Here are some of the benefits that this activity has on children from the first moment they start putting it into practice:

  • Children become calmer  and are able to control their temper tantrums. Quarrels will also decrease significantly.
  • Not only will they be able to focus on the present , forget the past and the future and enjoy the moment, it will also help them not lose focus in class.
  • They will enjoy and value the little things that surround them and that they possess. Without the need to desire what they don’t really need.
  • They will be able to empathize, understand their friends better and be more generous.  They will put aside that selfishness that is often typical of children.
  • They will know each other and find out what they feel and think. All of this will help them understand that sometimes they don’t have to look for a culprit, but take responsibility for their actions.
  • They will learn that mistakes are a starting point and that perfection is unattainable. Healthy goals can be proposed without frustration and disillusionment …

As you can see, adults could learn a lot from these teachings that meditation grants to children.

Well … Will you replace punishment with meditation?  

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