How early can you start or techniques to help children?

Kenneth, do you or any of the others on the discussion, work with children? Are there ways to help kids do basic practice that anyone has used? (like watching the breath) I love Noah Levine's books and Dharma talks because he came to his practice through rebellion against the "Hippie" movement his parents were in. I realize I need to do much more work on my own practice, but would love to be able to help my kids, especially since we have no church or doctrine that we follow in our family. (other than my husband's "Skeptic" magazines) Thanks!

Hi J,

I'm very eager to hear what others have to say because I know very little about this. I suppose that's surprising because I am trained as a K-12 teacher, have taught private music lessons to kids as young as seven, and am a meditation teacher. But I've never explicitly taught meditation to kids. I just have a couple of ideas. I used to have both children and adults put their ear against the body of their acoustic guitar, play one open string, and listen for the exact moment when the sound became too quiet to hear. This is a great concentration and investigation exercise, very subtle and powerful. I've also told stories to kids, understanding that they could intuitively pick up symbolic language even when they were not cognitively ready for the concept of enlightenment. I once told my 8-year-old niece "The Boy Who Found the Great Ocean," when she was having trouble sleeping. She listened with rapt attention. When the story was ended, she thought about it for a moment, said, "That was a great story," and went back to bed.

kennethfolkdharma.wetpaint.com/page/The+...ound+the+Great+Ocean

My 8 years old son asked me what I was doing. I told him to sit next to me and see for himself. I then walked him through a form of simple vipassana, telling him to feel the sensations of his body: is it tingling anywhere? It is warm? Cold? Painful? Pleasant? When he got to the pleasant sensations, I told him to focus on them for a while. After about 20 minutes, he felt so good that he was eager to come back on the next day.

For teenagers, I would do the opposite and tell them that meditation is only for adults (like smoking or drinking). They might then do it as an act of rebellion