00:30

Children Meditation: Emotion Regulation & Gratitude

by Eva van der Ploeg, Ph.D.

Rated
4.4
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Children
Plays
501

A meditation for children aged 4-12 years (and anyone else who wants to try!). For any time during the day or before sleep. Emotions can be intense and overwhelming. This is a general practice that supports emotion regulation regardless of which emotion you may be experiencing. After a couple of calming breaths, we focus on things, activities, and people that we are so happy to have in our lives. Inspired by my son Finn (7) and supported by beautiful music composed by Sonic Yogi.

ChildrenMeditationEmotion RegulationGratitudeBreathingEmotional ProcessingSelf CompassionSleepRelaxationEmotional RegulationDiaphragmatic Breathing

Transcript

Hi there,

It's Eva here.

I'm glad you decided to join me in a moment of,

Well,

A moment of what really?

I guess you could be here for a number of reasons.

Maybe you feel happy and calm and you want to build on that feeling.

Maybe you feel emotions that make you less comfortable,

Like sadness,

Anger,

Overexcitement.

Do know that I have separate meditations for each of these emotions as well.

However,

This meditation can help with any of those emotions.

I guess especially if or when you feel overpowered and things have become too much.

This meditation can help you shift your focus,

Just so you can take a breather from whatever happened and how it made you feel.

Don't forget to talk about it later still,

Or maybe write it down.

The aim of this meditation is not to pretend that things did not happen,

But yes,

At times taking a break can be most helpful.

So let's start by taking some breaths into our lower bellies.

Put your right hand palm down under your belly button.

On your next inhale,

Send your breath into this hand and the lower belly will inflate.

On the exhale,

The hand and belly come down.

Inhale,

Make it a bit longer.

Exhale,

Make it a bit longer.

And again,

Long full inhale,

Slow full exhale.

Great job.

You may release your hand and take your focus from your breath and just listen.

I would like to talk about gratitude.

Do you know this word?

Gratitude.

It means that you focus your attention on things that you are thankful for.

Things that you feel so happy about that you have them in your life.

And with things,

I mean toys or books,

But also hobbies.

The things you do and especially people.

Can you think about things that make you happy?

In your mind,

Just list a couple of things,

People or activities that you are grateful for.

If it's just one thing,

That's absolutely fine.

If it's a longer list,

That's absolutely fine too.

When you think about these people or things,

Can you notice what happens inside your body?

Maybe you feel warmer or softer.

And what happens in your mind?

Do you maybe feel calmer or actually excited to think about these great things in your life?

What happens to your emotions?

And if not so much happens,

This is nothing to worry about.

Sometimes we only notice the smallest changes.

But many small steps will also take you a long way.

Big leaps can be helpful too.

Everyone does things their own way.

There is no right and wrong.

And then be thankful to yourself.

You decided to come here and do this meditation.

Or if someone asked you to do it,

You still decided to stay until the end.

Caring for yourself is so important.

Life is not about avoiding or ignoring the things that happen to you.

It is about realizing what happened and how it made you feel.

By looking it in the eye and just processing it.

This does not have to be an active process.

There is not a whole lot to do.

You just need to create some space and allow it to be.

And whilst you're letting it be,

You can assist yourself by also thinking about those things that make you happy.

This will prevent you from getting sucked into a particular emotion.

It may give you perspective,

Another look at what just happened.

So you will be able to say,

Yes,

This happened and it did make me feel awful.

But I also still have or I also still feel.

Give it a try.

Thank you so much for joining me as always.

And for being honest about how you feel and what you need.

Keep it up and join me anytime you feel the need to focus on things that bring you joy.

Meet your Teacher

Eva van der Ploeg, Ph.D.Bali, Indonesia

4.4 (18)

Recent Reviews

Elle

August 15, 2024

Her voice is one of the very few that relaxes me!! She is calm and always makes me feel better!

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© 2026 Eva van der Ploeg, Ph.D.. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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