Want to help your kids relax and rebalance? Download one of these wellness and wellbeing apps specifically for children…
Life as a mum is hard – from dealing with sporadic temper tantrums to juggling work deadlines and general life admin. It’s a lot to handle. Luckily, our digitally-focused lives mean we’re now armed with plenty of zen-inducing wellness apps that teach us how to meditate our way through the mayhem. But what about the kiddos and their mental health?
Child anxiety is a real thing, as is stress, confusing emotions and lack of focus. Thankfully, the benefits of mindfulness and meditation are as life-changing for adults as they are for children. So, some clever folk have created special mindfulness apps for kids designed to soothe their busy minds and those big scary feelings.
As you know, we’re all about nurturing happier, more relaxed households, so to help your child’s own mental well-being (and your own, for that matter), we’ve put together some of our favourite mindfulness apps for kids that the whole family can get stuck into. From guided meditations to dream-inducing sleep stories, these apps will help you and your children de-stress, chill out, and tune into some much-needed rest and relaxation. Insert a long and blissful ahhhh sound *here*.
The best mindfulness apps for kids
1. Headspace
Probably one of the most popular mindfulness apps, Headspace has an entire collection of meditations specifically for kids. Spanning five key themes, your kiddos can master the art of mental well-being and mindfulness through simple breathing exercises, focus-based activities, visualisations that teach kindness and openness, and quick wake-up exercises to squeeze in before the school rush. They even customise sessions for three age groups: five and under, six to eight, and nine to 12-year-olds. And psst – they’ve even partnered with Barbie, too!
Details: Download the free version or unlock all with various paid-for options.
Available on the App Store & Google Play.
2. Moshi: Sleep & Mindfulness
If your little ones struggle to sleep, this dream-inducing app will help settle their busy minds and lead them into a peaceful slumber (hallelujah!). We love Moshi because this app is audio-only, meaning their mindfulness doesn’t require much screen time. You’ll find more than 45 hours of lullabies, wondrous tales, meditations, and enchanting music designed to help them wind down, drift off and get used to utter relaxation…
Details: Free to download, plus in-app purchases.
Available on the App Store & Google Play.
3. Calm
This is one of our absolute favourite mindfulness apps we use daily – and the best bit is that there’s now a dedicated section for kids. While there are plenty of meditations, children’s yoga sessions, breath-work features and even calming sounds to listen to as background noise, our favourite bit about Calm is the incredible selection of kids’ sleep stories, most of which are narrated by famous voices. Listen to lullabies with Stephen Fry, gaze at the night sky with Matthew McConaughey, or doze off to the Song of the Sunbird with Leona Lewis.
Details: Download the free version or unlock all via the paid-for account.
Available on the App Store & Google Play
4. Dreamykid
A mindfulness app specifically designed for children, Dreamykid manages to cover every single pillar of mental well-being for kids. There’s a selection of everyday meditations for when they wake up or go to bed, positive affirmations, guided visualisation that let children journey to different emotions, and even issue-specific healing for ADD, healthy eating, anger management, and so much more. We love the kiddie-friendly design, too – it lets little hands take charge of their own well-being experience…
Details: Download the free version or unlock all via the paid-for account options.
Available on the App Store.
5. Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind is a 100% not-for-profit app that’s driven entirely by its impact on the well-being of families. Its mission is to equip the little people in your life with integral skills they need to thrive: a calm mind, balanced emotions, openness without judgement and improved concentration, to name just a few psyche-superpowers. Mums and dads, you’re not off the hook here. Smiling Mind encourages parents to get involved with their kids’ inner development, directly associating mindfulness and meditation with education and wholesome family growth.
Price: Free
Available on the App Store & Google Play.
6. Super Stretch Yoga
Designed for kids yet perfect for the whole family, Super Stretch Yoga is a fun and interactive app that gets everyone moving and thinking. Kids can join the daily “Adventures of Super Stretch” using storytelling, animation, and video. They’ll be practising poses, collecting stars and taking photos with Super Stretch and his friends – a team of good guys that teach how to use movement and breathing to make every day balanced. It’s so fun; the kiddos won’t even realise they’re exercising!
Price: Free
Available on the App Store & Google Play.
7. Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
If your littlies love Sesame Street, they’ll love this fun and colourful problem-solving app. Laugh and learn as they help a Sesame Street monster solve everyday challenges with the “Breathe, Think, Do” strategy. They’ll help him take deep breaths, think of plans, and try them out to solve his problems – all with silly animations and playful interactions. This one is perfect for toddlers and younger children up to five years of age.
Price: Free
Available on the App Store & Google Play.
8. Mindful Family
With a key focus on meditation, Mindful Family introduces both parents and kids to mindfulness through guided meditations. The meditations help kids gently process their experiences and emotions for better sleep, encouraging parents to join in and support the journey.
Price: Free
Available on Spotify & Apple Music.
9. Mindful Powers
Mindful Powers teaches mindfulness and social-emotional learning through progressive and interactive voice-guided stories and a task timer. Kids will have their own Flibbertigibbet, an app companion that guides them through the exercises. The designed app is based on contextual behavioural science and inspired by an approach to therapy.
Price: Free to download, plus in-app purchases.
Available on the App Store.
10. Wellbeyond Meditation for Kids
Wellbeyond believes mindfulness training and meditation are essential skills children should pick up, which is why Meditation for Kids was created. The app offers five guided meditation exercises that help with sleep, managing feelings, cultivating kindness, concentration, and inner peace.
Price: Free to download, plus in-app purchases.
Available on the App Store.
11. MindShift CBT
We know teens go through a lot of life transitions that can impact their mental health. It could be natural to feel some level of anxiety. Looking to help your teen manage anxiety symptoms? MindShift CBT uses scientifically proven strategies based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help them learn to relax and be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and use active steps to take charge of your anxiety. This app stands out with its features like the Thought Journal that can help teens monitor their thoughts pre and post-panic attacks and Belief Experiements that help teens experiment ways their beliefs might be causing anxiety.
Price: Free to download.
Available on the App Store.
We hope these mindfulness apps for kids bring you all some much-deserved calm!
