Our kids are connected all day, this is not going to change. While being connected was so helpful while our teens have been isolated from their peers, the long days of staring at their phones and watching what other kids are doing can take a toll on their mental health. Getting them to put down their phones is not always so easy to do, but if they are going to be on their phones here are 8 apps that can help them build some great mindfulness habits.
Gratitude made simple, every day you are prompted to write 3 good that happens each day. Studies have shown over and over that gratitude is good for mental health. Three Good Things makes it easy for your teen to quickly record 3 things that they are grateful for each day.
This app is easy for your teen to personalize their mindfulness practice. Each time they use the app they will be prompted to choose a way that they are feeling and the app will assign a mindfulness practice that reaches that feeling. In addition, you can install various skills on your Alexa or Echo Dot including one for sleep.
If you only download one of these apps, download this one. Using patented technology, Re-Think monitors what your child is typing in a text or on social media and alerts them if their words are harmful or bullying. Giving them a minute to Re-Think what they are going to post before they do it.
Have 5 minutes? Simple Habit makes starting a mediation routine easy. Simple Habit has meditation plans to help with sleep, starting your day, anxiety, and more. They also offer meditations that are as long as 20 minutes and challenges to encourage you to meditate daily.
This is one my daughter and I both use. There has been a huge resurgence of coloring for adults. The Colorfy app is a simple and free coloring app this is just mindless and relaxing. You can also take a picture of your own drawing and upload it to color.
Using strategies based in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mind Shift is designed to help with anxiety and stress. While an app is no substitute for any care that you would receive from a physician or licensed therapist, it may be a nice supplement.
Geared towards teens, Pacifica offers teens a place to connect with other teens who may be feeling anxious or stressed. The app also gives teens a place to journal, track their moods as well as meditate.
Designed to help you reduce and manage your screen time, with Forest, your tree grows while the app is open, if you close the app to do something else, your tree will die. Forest also has a Google Chrome extension to help with screen time on the computer as well. For each tree that you grow, the app developers plant a real tree.
