You may be aware – whether from personal experience or simply reading the news – that more and more children and teens in the United States are experiencing more stress than ever before and anxiety. (FYI: 44% of high school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and nearly a third of high school girls say they have considered suicide, an increase of 60% over the past decade. )
You may also be aware of the impact that four-time Grand Slam tennis champion Naomi Osaka has had on mental health awareness after speaking forcefully and consistently about it in the past few years. Now, she’s teamed up with Modern Health, a global platform focused on mental health, to create a series of free and public audio meditations just for children to help combat stress and anxiety.
“As someone who suffers from anxiety, it is really comforting to have a daily mechanism to help me cope,” Osaka said, “When I was talking to the team at Modern Health about the I get really excited when the meditations are guided.”
As for the meditations themselves: They center on “evidence-based techniques for mindfulness in children and teens,” says Dr. Sharon Adusei, author of Clinical Strategy Leader for Outcomes and Quality at Modern Health and licensed Children’s Clinical Psychologist. They combine what Adusei calls “open language, allowing young people to choose how they want to practice meditation, with statements that encourage positive habits. Children tell us they’re struggling — mental health services bear With extreme stress, a chronic shortage of providers who specialize in working with youth and an increasing need for support, we need to focus not only on quality interventions but also on prevention, helping to develop skills to manage stress at home, at school and around the world. “
Osaka has documented three separate meditations for three different ages, each coordinated with age-appropriate developmental skills and language. The book for 5- to 7-year-olds focuses on getting them to acknowledge their strong feelings and helping them imagine a safe place to deal with them. Meditation for kids ages 8 to 11 helps develop the skill of self-compassion — in part by asking the kids to visualize a trusted friend’s advice. Meditations for ages nine and up help listeners find a sense of grounding when most of their lives feel overwhelming and distracting.
