Sitting Still Like a Frog is a book for open minded parents that are willing to try meditation with their children. Teachers and others that regularly work with children might find some of the ideas and exercises useful as well. I liked that the author included personal experiences, and not just the sunshine and roses. Parenting can be hard, and accepting that we could all do better is a great first step. I will admit that I have not yet jumped ahead and started these exercises with my children, at least not yet, but I can see how some could be extremely useful in my house. Getting everyone to slow down on focus on just breathing, on being, and the subtle workings of our bodies can go a long way to focusing the mind and getting a handle on emotions that might otherwise feel out of control.

An informative Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn introduces this valuable guide on mindfulness and meditation for children. Eline Snel is a seasoned parent, therapist and teacher. Her book is filled with practical suggestions and examples of how mindfulness can help to cultivate attentiveness (internal and external), relieve stress, recognize moods, relax, and deal with what is happening within and around us. The CD provides eleven guided meditations. For parents, teachers and anyone ages 5 to 12 (and up).” Life with three young boys is rarely calm and quiet. More often than not, their waking hours are filled with hollering, yelling, whoops of joy, cries of "It's not fair!" and lots of ambient noise. Sometimes it seems that their default volume is LOUD and escalates to REALLY LOUD without much effort at all.

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Reading this book instils confidence, telling you that you’re doing better as a parent than you think, and that your teenager can develop into a person they’re proud of. Sitting Still Like a Frog introduces the basics of mindfulness to children in an easy-to-understand and playful way. It guides children in the cultivation of presence: presence of mind, presence of heart, and presence in the body. This is something we are all capable of but usually don't cultivate intentionally. Why not start young in training those capacities? The world nowadays is so complex and fast-paced that knowing how to ground oneself in the present moment is an absolute necessity to make sense of the world and to continue learning, growing, and contributing what is uniquely yours to contribute in this world." —from the foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn If you’ve ever been the parent of a teenager, you’ll know that it’s a great adventure in every respect. One thing is certain: you never know what will happen next! Eline Snel is a Dutch mindfulness teacher, trainer, and author. She is best known for her book “Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents)” which was published in 2013 by Shambhala Publications. Snel is a certified mindfulness teacher who has taught mindfulness and meditation to children, adults, and teachers in Europe and the United States. I was really expecting to love this book. I'm all about meditating (by myself and with my kids). I loved the illustrations when I first started looking through the book. But when I started getting into the text, I was surprised by some of the messages.

Sitting Still Like a Frog is an internationally bestselling book about Mindfulness, for children aged 5 to 12 and their parents. It has been translated into many languages and published in more than 42 countries. But why is this principle limited to physical, external activities? A child could have learned before the end of the defiance phase to breathe negative emotions away. To be independent of external influences. To allow and reinforce the positive imprints and protect oneself against the negative ones. By learning to not longer be a servant of one's own uncontrolled emotions through the automation of relaxation techniques, meditation and conditioning. To be armed against attempts of indoctrination and manipulation from various private and public sources. And to have a lot in advance to a majority of adults. Unfortunately. As a teacher at a Buddhist School, I found Sitting Still to be an accessible resource. I was able to incorporate its ideas into the classroom right away, such as the concept of your personal weather report. I would ask the children, “what’s the weather like inside of you?” They then responded “good like a sunny day” or “tired like a rainy day.” In the classroom, we often talk about the weather outside, so this exercise presents a tangible way to talk about feelings. Feelings are like the weather, they change and it is important to remember that nothing ever stays the same. With that being said, there is always a blue sky above the clouds and within you.

These are the audio excercises to accompany the book Sitting Still Life a Frog by Eline Snel from Shambhala Publications, available here: The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson