The Potential Benefits of Mindfulness Training in Early Childhood: A Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective
Child Development Perspectives
Format:
Journal Article
Publication Year:
2012
Pages:
154–160
Source ID:
shanti-sources-21571
Zotero Collections:
Practitioner Context, Pediatrics and Contemplation, Contemplation by Applied Subject, Health Care and Contemplation, Psychology and Contemplation, Science and Contemplation
Abstract:
Early childhood is marked by substantial development in the self-regulatory skills supporting school readiness and socioemotional competence. Evidence from developmental social cognitive neuroscience suggests that these skills develop as a function of changes in a dynamic interaction between more top-down (controlled) regulatory processes and more bottom-up (automatic) influences on behavior. Mindfulness training—using age-appropriate activities to exercise children's reflection on their moment-to-moment experiences—may support the development of self-regulation by targeting top-down processes while lessening bottom-up influences (such as anxiety, stress, curiosity) to create conditions conducive to reflection, both during problem solving and in more playful, exploratory ways.