Some mornings I marvel at the strangeness of sitting down on my meditation cushion and opening the mindfulness app on my phone in order to engage in a practice that is several millennia old.
While many times our mobile devices are not very conducive to being present and aware, they do have a great deal of potential in aiding us in our mindfulness practice. Many of the moms, teachers, and students I work with tell me they are an incredibly helpful part of their meditation experience.
Without any further ado, I’d like to share with you my favorite mindfulness apps for moms, kids, and teens!
Mindfulness Apps for Moms
The Insight Timer
This is the one I use every day! You can see everyone else in the world that is meditating with you (or at least where they are in the world), and you can customize the bell sounds, and choose from hundreds of guided meditations by leading meditation teachers.
Aura
I think this one must have been made with mothers in mind, because all of the meditations are just three minutes long! You get a new meditation each day, and they never repeat.
Headspace
While I am an Insight Timer devotee, I have people tell me every day how much they LOVE the Headspace app. This is a great app if you are just beginning your practice.
Mindfulness Apps for Kids
Little kids are often mindful enough on their own, and much better about living in the present moment than us future-oriented grownups, but there are lots of apps that can help them learn some basic breathing and calming strategies.
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
In this app, kids help the monster calm down and solve problems! They practice breathing, and then help the monster think about different solutions and try them out.
Settle Your Glitter
It’s like a portable mind jar! Just shake the glitter and breathe with the fish to calm down. (Unfortunately, this one is not available yet in the US).
Stop, Breathe, and Think Kids
In this kid version of the popular app for teens, kids check in with how they are feeling, and then the app recommends a mission for them to go on to help them with their particular emotion(s).
Smiling Mind
Mindfulness for kids, with an Australian accent. It’s awesome. (And it also has meditations and programs for grownups).
Mindfulness Apps for Teens
Stop Breathe and Think
This is my #1 favorite app for teens — tell the app how you’re feeling, and it will recommend specific guided meditations based on your mood and your needs. The app opens by asking users what five emotions they have been feeling today, which in and of itself is a great tool for emotional awareness for teens.
Calm
This is a favorite one among the teens I work with — it offers short practices, with soothing music and nature scenes to go along with them. There is also a “bedtime stories” feature to help you fall asleep. (This app is great for adults, too).
Change to Chill
Okay, this one is a website, not an app, but it was developed by Allina Health, in coordination with a teen advisory board, and it features fun and informative videos for teens about how they can reduce stress and chill out. (This page here has several free guided meditations, plus coloring page downloads).
Just getting started with meditation? You may be interested in the following:
A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation
- A Mindful Approach to New Year’s Resolutions - January 13, 2020
- Just This Next Step - December 16, 2019
- WAIT: A Mindfulness Practice for Waiting in Line - December 9, 2019
