FROM ‘Hygge’ to parenting, the Danish way of doing things is often widely talked about and one of Denmark’s latest exports is no exception. “The Children’s Meditations In my Heart” by emerging Danish author Gitte Winter Graugaard enables children to fall asleep within minutes. Now available in three different languages, it is beginning to change bedtime routines the world over.

I love to meditate and I actively practise mindfulness. I have found this to be incredibly helpful to both my mental and physical well-being. I wholeheartedly believe in the benefits, so I loved the idea behind “The Children’s Meditations In my Heart” and was excited to introduce it to L and share some special time. The thought of having in asleep within minutes held some appeal too, well let me be honest, it held a great deal of appeal!

What is “The Children’s Meditations In my Heart”

A collection of four meditations for parents to read to their children, Graugaard’s book shows parents how to teach their child the importance of self-esteem and self-love, enabling them to drift off into calming, reparative sleep, their hearts full with love.

The meditations are lovely and easy to follow. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never practised meditation before as there is a great guide at the beginning of the book. Also, from experience, there is no right or wrong way to meditate. Do what works for you in the moment.

Getting L used to this as a bedtime story wasn’t easy. This is no picture book or exciting story. It involved him being still, listening and wasn’t the routine he has been used to.

After a few weeks though he was enjoying it and asking for the love book. It is something we do together. A moment where we just concentrate on our love for each other. Some quiet reflection, with cuddles and concentrating on our heartbeats.

Does it have him dropping off to sleep in minutes? Heck no. But it is a beautifully calm way to end the day and it has certainly strengthened the bond between us and given us some lovely tricks to help him cope when he is feeling sad or lonely. Those moments when he is struggling with separation anxiety or when he has got himself really, really angry about something. You know, like when I have run out of yoghurt or given him the wrong flavour fruit shoot even if it was the one he asked for.

Why at bedtime?

Graugaard draws on her own experiences as a parent:

“When I started sharing beautiful heart meditations with my daughters, I was surprised to see how much they loved the interaction and how quickly they would fall asleep. As different as children are, almost every child delights in hearing about how much a parent or caregiver loves and treasures them. Even teenagers – to my surprise! – seem to be calmed by hearing the meditations in the book read aloud. However, the best part is that your child learns to fill his or her own heart with love. And learning how to turn up their self-love has shown to give children so much comfort long into the following day too, at nursery or school and beyond.”

Seeing the positive effect on her own children made her write down the meditations for other parents to share with their children.

I don’t know if bedtime is going to work long term for us, as it’s also the only time he really gets to spend with his daddy every day and they love to be silly with each other. But we can so easily adapt it to work for us at any time of day I shall probably just get him to join my morning meditation.

Where can you get it?

Now available in the UK “The Children’s Meditations In my Heart” is available from www.amazon.co.uk priced £14.95 for a hard copy, £4.97 for a kindle copy, and £5.09 for a pdf download from www.roomforreflection.com.

So if you fancy trying this with your kids I’ve to copies of the book to giveaway, simply enter your details into the Gleam app below.

Good luck xx

Win one of two copies of The Children’s Meditations in My Heart by Gitte Winter Graugaard

Disclosure – I received my copy in exchange for an honest review and the prizes have also been provided.