Dec 27, 2017, Deerfield Beach, FL, Sun Sentinel: Mindfulness: Help your child increase focus, reduce anxiety and cultivate empathy by training the mind http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/south-florida-parenting/sfp-mindfulness-in-children-20171221-story.html … The father of modern mindfulnesss is Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts. Based in the tradition of Buddhist mediation, mindfulness is “the awareness that arises through paying attention on purpose in the present moment, non-judgementally.” MBSR cognitive therapy was designed to help the chronically ill deal with their pain. But its applications have expanded to address myriad conditions from depression and addiction to ADHD to childbirth. … “There are studies that show that it does provide children with increases in focus and attention and reduction in anxiety, improvement in impulse control and emotional regulation, and it cultivates tolerance with an increase in empathy and compassion,” said Silvia Rojas, managing director of Mindful Kids Miami, a nonprofit organization that offers mindfulness training to school children in Miami-Dade County. …
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.