This mindful balancing game is a fun activity to learn focusing skills, body awareness and impulse control. Yes, you can do all that while having fun with your kids :)

You can do this activity with a group of kids or one-on-one like we do at home.

Another bonus is that you can do it with Lego pieces … I’m a big fan of Lego. In fact, when I finished my first big online mindfulness course we celebrated by … building this amazing Lego X-wing together with my son Anton :-) Building Lego worlds has been a fun way for us to hone our focusing skills together.

Now, you’re _not_ supposed to use an X-wing in the balancing game, just some small pieces placed strategically … and it certainly doesn’t have to be Lego pieces. I just wanted to show off our cool X-wing in the photo below ;-)

( Yes, I’m a big nerd )

( Screen shot from Positive Mindfulness for Kids and Teens Online Training )

Okay, back to the balancing game :) It’s easy and fun…

Fun Mindfulness Game: Balancing Game

Purpose: Body awareness, Impulse control, Focus, Calm

Best for: Ages 4+, groups and one-on-one

What you need: Small objects like Lego pieces, somewhere to lie down, and a timer

This mindful balancing game is a fun way to learn body awareness and impulse control. We like to play this with Lego pieces. The idea is to see how long your child can stay still lying down balancing objects on his or her body.

1. To begin, ask your child to lie down and take five deep breaths.

2. Next, place small objects, like Lego pieces or chips from a board game, on his body. Start with the legs, putting objects just above his ankles and knees, then on the back of his hands, on his arms, his shoulders, his forehead, and one last one on his chin. Seven objects are likely enough; you don’t want to make it too hard for him.

3. Tell your child to lie very still and to not let the objects fall.

4. Start a timer and tell him that the game has started.

5. When the first object drops, stop the timer and announce his score. Congratulate your kid on whatever happened.

6. When ready, ask your child if it was easy or hard. Did he like it? Was he able to feel the objects? Does he think it will get easier with practice? Did mindful breathing help him to score higher?

You can keep score and play this game as many times as he likes. You can track it and see if you improve over time (when you get used to mindful breathing, for example).

With a group of kids you can have them all balance and see who’s the last one to drop the objects.

 
Add mindful breathing
 
If you want to, you can start playing without mindful breathing and add it later to show how it can improve focus. You can ask your kid to focus on his breath to see if it helps him to stay calm and still. Guide your kid to pay attention to his breath or allow him to do it alone. See how long he is able to stay still that way. With older children, you can let them try the game with their eyes open and closed. Tell them that they will likely notice that focusing on their breath with eyes closed helps them balance longer. With younger children, you want to first teach them how to pay attention to their breath.
 
Whatever you do, remember to keep it playful :-)
 
Play it yourself and let your kid keep time (if he’s old enough). Maybe you can even get him to guide you through some mindful breathing when it’s your time to play.
 

I hope you’ll enjoy this activity with the kids!!

You’ll find 150 playful mindfulness activities in my 5-star rated best selling book:

“The Most Important Mindfulness Book You’ll Ever Buy” – Helen Hudson

Ultimate Mindfulness Activity Book – 150 Playful Mindfulness Activities for Kids and Teens (and Grown-Ups too!)

Wishing you many mindful moments :-)

Chris Bergstrom

Chief Mindfulness Ninja @ Blissful Kids

 #1 Best-Selling Author of:
 
 
★★★★★ Awesome “Bought this book for my 6 year old, but even my 3 and 15 yo love the activities. We usually incorporate activities on a daily basis and it’s been working so far.”
 
&
 
 
★★★★★ Cute and calming “With the craze being all about baby sharks, it’s a great idea to take it and use it to help our kids calm down themselves. I’m a therapist and look forward to using this with my kid clients.”

See also:

Liking the Music

Stay Cool Game

5 Mindful Games

If you are new to mindfulness with children OR you want to make practice easy we recommend our online mindfulness courses.


Chris Bergstrom is a bestselling mindfulness author, the founder of BlissfulKids.com, a blog dedicated to children’s mindfulness, and a dad who is thrilled to practice mindfulness with his son. He is a certified mindfulness facilitator and trained to teach mindfulness to students in K-12. He’s also known as “the dad who tried 200+ mindfulness activities” and has taught meditation for more than 15 years.