Looking for a mindfulness journal for kids? Journali offers the perfect mix of daily journal prompts for kids, along with space to draw and create. Journali is focused on instilling the healthy habit of expression, along with the added benefit of it being a gratitude journal for kids.
Does your child already have their journal, but isn’t sure how to begin? Checkout the tips below…
- Think about your journal as a best friend. What would you want to talk about with a best friend? Start from here.
- Journaling can take on many forms such as: drawings, poems, letters to oneself, monologues about experiences, or a simple bullet point list of things they are grateful for or achieved throughout the day. What’s most important is creating a channel for consistent connection and expression each day.
- Encourage your child to write about their day. Even though it might seem silly, writing about their day can help instill a habit of reflection, which teaches them to view relationships and experiences from a new perspective.
- Keeping consistent with a new habit can be challenging, so if your child is new to journaling we recommend pairing it with an existing habit. For example, journaling in the morning after breakfast, or before bed after they brush their teeth.
- Help your child create a safe place to keep their journal, so they don’t feel like anyone will read it and they can pour their heart into it. As parents it’s important to create a relationship of trust, so always ask your child if they would like to share their journal with you before reading it.
- Use journaling as a way to set daily intentions with your child.
- Dream journaling is a great way to inspire your child to reflect on themselves and get in touch with their creative side. In the morning after your child wakes up, have them take a few minutes to write or draw what they remember from their dreams. If your child has nightmares this can be especially helpful in processing the dreams and letting them out of their mind onto paper.
- If your child is reluctant to sit down with their journal, set a timer for 10-15 minutes that can be used to create a routine of writing and commitment each day.
- Steer away from condemnation, and instead strive towards questions. If you don’t quite understand why your child is journaling about their chosen topic, instead of condemning them, ask them what meaning this topic has to them and why they are choosing to focus on it.
- Make a habit of going back and reading through past entries. As your child continues to add to their journal, it’s useful for them to reflect on all the ways they’ve grown and changed over the course of a week, month, year, and so on. The simple act of having them read back through their journal entries can be an empowering experience that shows them how they are capable of overcoming challenges.
Above all, your child doesn’t always have to write about themselves; it can be observations they make about the world around them such as the weather, friends, family, experiences, social situations, world events, etc. The point is to get into the habit of observation and communication.
Ready…Set…Journali!