Quiet Time - How to Teach Your Kids This Essential Part of a Healthy Life

Much to the initial dismay of my kids, I will occasionally declare that it is time for some Quiet Time in the house. Not as a punishment, not as a consequence. Simply because there is a vibe around that we’re over scheduled. Over revved. Over stimulated. And we all, as a family, need to stop. Simplify. Reconnect with ourselves.

Peacefully. Without siblings. Without words. Without You-Tube, Googles, Macs, Wiis or iAddict-o-products. A one on one with our own being.

This, of course, is about as popular as a flu shot in September. And as the kids stomp stomp stomp to their own rooms to begin their 60 minutes of self-declared “torture”, I hear their noises of grief and grumbling. But then, five minutes later, I hear the quiet. Maybe a little twinkle of singing from one of the rooms. And when I peek in to check on them, there is a soft glow of peace around each of them. My son reading a book, sprawled on his bed. One daughter creating a little home out of a shoebox for her teeny tiny, big eyed animals. The other pulling out her art box and smearing pastels with her fingers in swirly colors, around and around.

What an important lesson for these kiddos, and for me. This ADD way of life these days of constant stimulation and information load load load and overload, has our heads a-whirling. If I can teach my kids and encourage them to find the joy in Quiet Time, they will learn the skills of centering and grounding without them even knowing it’s a lesson. 

Such essential bits to a healthy life.

by Kathy Klein

Thanks to K in Boulder for inspiring this blog today by sharing the work of artist Kathy Klein, who creates flower circles out of natural objects inspired by the “golden sound residing within perfect silence.”   

Within silence there is creativity, inspiration. I find my Quiet Time on a hike. Just me, the mountains, and the sky. Where do you find yours? Take five minutes, find it. And then torture your kids with the info. Someday, they'll thank us.

Namaste & Three Cheers -OM

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