There are several ways that can help our children connect to beneficial messages we want them to grow up strong with, and here I’ll discuss 3 of them.

Without doubts, the most important way is the personal example of the parents. 
This point is very stressed not only by family therapists but by the great spiritual masters of our time as well. Children are especially sensitive to the emotional tone of their close environment and they spontaneously tune to it. ​

We have witnessed tremendous change in families' lives whose parents read Eckhart Tolle’s books, listened to Mooji's videos, or followed the practices of Thich Nhat Hanh (of course each parent had her/his favorite teacher, and here I've named just few). So no doubt that when parents make sure to keep their practice (whichever that is) and they commit to being present in everything they do and say, the child will feel the high and balanced frequency and will connect to it eventually. For this reason we can then say that first and foremost our young ones learn to be balanced and aware by being in the presence of balanced aware parents, whose behavior, values and level of consciousness children will emulate.
 
Another great way to help the child grow firmly rooted in mindful and loving values are the many activities which promote conscious behavior and self awareness through different practices and exercises.
 
These are meditation for kids, yoga classes for kids, tai chi and also other therapeutic activities such as those immersed in the nature and in contact with animals. Here it’s important to choose the right technique that will suit the personality of the child. With calm and introspective kids, it’s possible to start with meditation classes for children even at an early age; while for more lively young personalities it’s better to choose activities which are more physical. Working with the body is a great way to bring balance and harmony, and the goal here is to calm down stress and agitation while promoting relaxation and focus. We can choose among yoga for kids, tai chi, other mindful martial arts for children and other practices done immersed in nature as I mentioned above. For kids with negative emotions, fears and aggressivity, visual imagery can work wonders in healing and preparing new basis of constructive, positive beliefs.

​For the reason mentioned above, that children are like sponges constantly absorbing the ‘’vibes’’ of their surroundings including that of the adults in their lives, it then becomes important to choose the right teacher.
A good teacher is someone who walks her talks and whose life and behavior reflect the principles we want our children to ‘’pick up’’ when around her. So to me in this respect it is important to also consider the human qualities and the coherence of the instructor together with her experience and certifications.
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The third way is through storytelling.

Storytelling is a fun and pleasant way for the child to learn, plus, it has been tested, as it has been used since the dawn of history to pass on wisdom. Nowadays storytelling comes into our children’s world through different kinds of media: books, cartoons, television programs, videos on the net, etc., so storytelling is already part of our children’s lives, and not only do they connect to it effortlessly but they also love it.

So why not use something children already know and love, storytelling, to give them mental and emotional tools that will help them grow up to fulfill their full potential?
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For this reason and understanding the powerful tool that storytelling can be, we have put together a collection of children’s books. It is our wish to carry the messages of all the great teachers of our time to our young ones. Messages of harmony, peace and hope through stories which deal with topics such as self love and self appreciation, respect for the gift of one’s own life and for the lives of all beings, consideration for the resources of this planet, trust in one’s own talents with a relaxed can do attitude mindful of others’ feelings, and so on.

For families interested in reading a different illustrated audiobook of ours for their kids every month, we are now offering a no-commitment monthly subscription. Besides being able to watch & read our inspiring illustrated audiobook with music, your child will also receive a monthly mindful gift, and you’ll get an article on a relevant topic as well.

​In our collection of inspiring children’s books, we have stories on restoring friendship after a bullying event, on trust and on help being always available. We also have more mindfulness-oriented books about the importance of focusing our mind and sticking to our intentions, about paying attention to our thoughts and feelings and discriminating between beneficial and non-beneficial ones, about listening to our inner intuitions to find our gifts and talents and, of course, about opening our hearts.

Together with the traditional illustrated children’s books, we are now offering a new format, even more inspiring and uplifting: illustrated audiobooks for children with music ♡.

With the intent of conveying those universal spiritual values mentioned earlier on, we have also designed a family program with a series of mindful family activities which include mindful gifts, group discussions for families from all around the world with the same beliefs (mindful and spiritual but not religious) in common, and Q&A of children’s questions about the books offered. For more info about this program click here.
 
To conclude, even though the role of the adults will always be the most important factor for teaching mindful values and beliefs in children, at IR4K we sincerely hope to make the job of the parents a bit easier by offering our illustrated children’s audiobooks and our program as an additional tool to the wonderful work parents are already doing.

Thank you for stopping by, in Joy,
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Ori and the team