My daughters homework for each day this week is :<p>1. Talk about your feelings.<p>2. Do something you are good at.<p>3. Keep yourself hydrated.<p>4. Eat well.<p>5. Keep active in mind and body.<p>6. Take a break.<p>7. Stay connected to those you care about.<p>8. Ask for help.<p>9. Be proud of your very being.<p>10. Actively care for others.<p>She has a chart she needs to tick once she has achieved each item.<p>I get that they are all good things to do and perhaps it provides a talking point in families where these things aren't considered, but it seems a bit much to throw it all in at once. Next week she will probably be back to learning her 3 times tables..
My five year-old son now talks about his mind in the third person as a result of this. I'm having to retrain him with responsibility for his own actions.<p>Lovely idea and all but having untrained people teaching psychological practices to reception-grade children seems rather foolhardy to me.
I think schools should teach one more thing: non-violent communication and related things: not-neediness, how to communicate feelings and needs, how to avoid shaming and guilt-tripping, how to ask and be fine with rejections, how to understand that other people may have different goals and motivations, etc.<p>- Marshall B. Rosenberg, "Non-Violent Communication" <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/560861.Non_Violent_Communication" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/560861.Non_Violent_Commu...</a><p>Moreover, it may change the society (so its benefits don't stop at an individual level) - as a lot of problems stem from conflicts that escalate step by step.
My child is doing this; I've seen two situations where it was a help.<p>- I took a chunk out of myself with an axe (idiot, tired, low blood sugar tomfoolery); I got coached to calm down, and "this is a good opportunity to practice mindfulness" was quoted at me. It was surprisingly helpful actually :)<p>- We stayed with some friends and one of their children had a typical 10yrld meltdown (over xbox); my child took themselves off to another room and practiced mindfulness to avoid getting upset.<p>So, it appears to be rubbish, but in practice seems to give tools that work, at least a bit!
I really struggle with the term "mindfulness" as it seems it can mean anything and everything, depending on who you ask. We had some Mindfulness workshops at a previous employer and it was so full of woo and magical thinking that it really turned me off and felt like a huge waste of time.<p>My current company also recently introduced a Mindfulness workshop only this time it was really a basic meditation workshop which I enjoyed.<p>At this point, I don't even know how to react when something related to Mindfulness is announced.
Awesome!<p>disclaimer: I've been involved in <a href="https://www.rulerapproach.org/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rulerapproach.org/</a> (as part of the development team from www.camplight.net)<p>It's interesting that the news release from gov.uk[1] focuses that they are doing one of the largest studies in the world with 370 schools... Looking today at our RULER statistics we now have almost ~900 enlisted USA schools.<p>Combining those will definitely become one of the largest, unless there's something similar in other parts of the world :O Have anybody heard something like this in other countries?<p>I hope all these initiatives lead to less bullying and aggressive behavior :))<p>[1] <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/one-of-the-largest-mental-health-trials-launches-in-schools" rel="nofollow">https://www.gov.uk/government/news/one-of-the-largest-mental...</a>
I've had a lot of experience with schools and mental health issues. I have a daughter under an EHCP due to a genetic problem that causes learning difficulties and the competence is simply not there to handle even basic care in this aspect. This isn't budgetary or process related, but individual human competence is beyond terrible. This spans three "Ofsted outstanding" rated schools and two local authorities. It has got to the point that there are actually specialist charities set up to whack the schools back into place legally when they screw up over and over again.<p>And we're trusting them with handling general mental health? What could possibly go wrong?<p>Mindfulness is such a vague concept that it detatches the responsibility from mental health as well.
Ah, it sounds like a rebranded "Personal Development Education". Having being introduced to it from secondary school onwards, it was always a pleasure to have a double period of PDE at the end of the day. Zero study involved. No real homework. If we were lucky they'd roll out the big telly and an old tape about bullying or hormones. Even when they put it before the first bell, it worked out well as a place to do your maths homework.<p>Probably for the best they're starting younger these days. They might find real buy-in from actual children.
I'm always puzzled with the fact that people search for surrogate solutions instead of pursuing the real issue.<p>If you don't feel well there is so much you can do. Make serious effort in making friends, join a sports club or something else you like, solve long running conflicts with other people, don't over- or under achieve on a level which doesn't fit you (school/work), be proud with the things you accomplish instead of never being satisfied, etc...<p>Perhaps it just seems easier to buy another self-help book, and take a mindfulness class.
I think this makes perfect sense. Good one from the Buddhists this one.
It's all about making the children stronger, tougher and more aware of them self and people around them. How they affect the world and how the world affects them. If the world is mean, harsh or tough, they are already capable to handle them self.<p>One can also as an adult start practicing this. Can be quite exhilarating.<p>Here is a good book on the subject
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miracle-Mindfulness-Gift-classic-revered/dp/1846044820/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549448492&sr=8-1&keywords=9781846044823" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miracle-Mindfulness-Gift-classic-re...</a>
About time for mindfulness to actually be a thing. Waiting for a time where people are at least exposed to the idea of mindfulness, whether they continue to practice it, is their choice. A subject in school is the best way to achieve this.<p>For adults, if one thinks that they are already super happy and self-realised, it still makes sense to try out the techniques of mindfulness just with a consideration that they "could" be even more so. They "could" be missing an entirely different dimension.<p>Personal experience:
Up till the age of 21, I was enjoying my life, doing well, fooling myself that I am the happiest I can be. That's when I took this course in IIT Madras called Self Awareness [1]. I had taken it because people said they always give good grades. The course caused a massive self-discovery for me. It was all and all about mindfulness. The teachings were mainly from the books: `Siddhartha` [2], `The power of now` [3] and `Stop sleep walking through life` [4]. They introduced us to relaxing exercises, meditation and breathing techniques along with some ideas to watch yourself while you are getting emotionally vulnerable. Briefly, the course was about being conscious of your existence, about feeling one with the present and about figuring yourself out for real. It has been 4 years since and I can clearly see that I am a different person, I have much less fights, I am rarely depressed, I handle criticism much better, I am much more productive in my work and most important of all, I have the clarity about who I am.<p>Sucks to think that I wouldn't have known (never mind achieved) all this if it weren't for a mindfulness course. Props to the schools in England for this initiative.<p>[1] <a href="https://courses.iitm.ac.in/course/info.php?id=849" rel="nofollow">https://courses.iitm.ac.in/course/info.php?id=849</a>
[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha_(novel)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhartha_(novel)</a>
[3] <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6708.The_Power_of_Now" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6708.The_Power_of_Now</a>
[4] <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/258519.Stop_Sleep_Walking_Through_Life_" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/258519.Stop_Sleep_Walkin...</a>
"children and teenagers struggling to get to grips with how they fit into the increasingly complex modern world"<p>Isn't that basically the job of children, and has always been?<p>Not to denounce the efforts to improve their mental health. Just saying some struggle seems normal and unavoidable, probably even necessary.
Not unrelatedly - another story on the front page today:<p><pre><code> The Decline of Historical Thinking
</code></pre>
Mindfulness is not new, it's just the word that is new.
>“Children will start to be introduced gradually to issues around mental health, well-being and happiness right from the start of primary school,” he added.<p>Why wouldn't adults just solve their mental problems instead of introducing them to children? Children have no problems with happiness or well-being. It's us who should learn from them.<p><i>big facepalm</i>