Guided imagery for kids - child meditating

GUIDED IMAGERY: Use these scripts to help children cope with anxiety and stress

Last updated: March 5th, 2019

Updated: March 5, 2019

Today’s children are facing sensory overload. From an early age, entertainment and information have just been a click away—TV, movies, video games, Internet, cellphones, e-books and other technological gadgetry.

Though technology has become a leisure activity, it overstimulates our senses, reduces our personal contact and decreases the amount of exercise we engage in—anything but relaxing.

Though parents may limit their children’s screen time, we’re continually bombarded by information and technology. Being so plugged-in tunes us out and moves us away from connecting to ourselves and to each other.

Despite our best efforts to create a balanced lifestyle, stress creeps into our daily lives. So many of us are overstimulated and over-scheduled. Our children are no exception. Adults may not realize how stressed out our children are.

The world has become more complicated and it’s no longer just school and peer pressures that impact kids. Free play time has diminished as a plethora of extracurricular activities jump in to fill every spare moment.

Children are exposed to live-coverage of natural disasters, wars and other negative media that may induce worry and stress in children. So it’s not surprising that anxiety-related disorders in children and teens are on the rise.

Children, especially younger ones, aren’t able to identify feelings of stress and anxiety as easily as adults. They may not connect their stomach aches, headaches, restlessness or irritability as being symptoms of anxiety. Depending on the child’s age and cognitive ability, emotions may be a difficult idea to grasp because they’re such abstract concepts.

Feelings like sad and happy can be easily understood, but disappointment, frustration, grief and anxiousness are harder to conceptualize. Since feelings can be confusing and overwhelming, helping your child to identify and become mindful of their feelings will help them navigate difficult times.

Mindfulness techniques can be introduced to children at an early age, which will help them to develop self-awareness and mastery over their feelings.

child meditating

Benefits of guided imagery for kids

A natural way to introduce children to mindfulness is through guided imagery.

Guided imagery is a meditative process that uses visualization and imagination to bring awareness to the mind-body connection.

Children can easily access this healing process because they’re naturally imaginative. By relaxing into a vivid story they gain tools to deal with stress, pain or difficult feelings. It’s a wonderful way to connect with your child as they learn to listen to their inner wisdom and access their own power of healing.

Guided imagery can be beneficial for a variety of issues and the process can be tailored to suit your child’s specific needs. It can help reduce stress in all children, but it can also help with specific issues like sleep problems, test anxiety, back-to-school jitters or illness. It can enhance coping skills, encourage self-esteem, increase creativity and boost the immune system.

For more serious problems, guided imagery is recognized as a form of treatment for anxiety, depression, learning disabilities, Attention Deficit Disorder, and to help patients prepare for surgery and procedures.

Considered an alternative therapy for years, guided imagery is now gaining widespread acceptance in the medical and scientific world. Psychology Today reported on a study in The Journal of Pediatrics, which found that guided imagery significantly reduces chronic stomach pain in children.

In this study, 30 children with chronic stomach pain listened to guided imagery CDs over an eight-week period; 63.1 percent experienced a significant decrease in their pain compared to just 26.7 percent in the control group who only received traditional medical care.

An interesting side note to this study was the children’s complete compliance—everyone enjoyed listening to the guided imagery CDs so much that they all wanted to complete the study.

Further research is showing that practicing guided imagery can create new neural pathways and reinforce positive behaviours. Our brains can’t distinguish between real events and imagined ones.

When you imagine yourself in a situation your brain releases biochemicals based on your feelings about the person or event. For example, remembering a heated argument will release stress hormones in your body. While focusing on a loving person or joyful experience will increase levels of endorphins and serotonin, making you feel more relaxed and positive.

Guided imagery encourages the brain to imagine positive and healing experiences, which helps to develop healthy coping skills and master new behaviours. By focusing your mind’s eye on accomplishing goals and creating a desired image of yourself, your brain creates new pathways to reinforce this behaviour.

This technique has been used for years by trainers and athletes to successfully build confidence and improve performance.

Getting started with guided imagery

Guided imagery is directed by a script, either read by an adult or listened to on a recording. The script guides your child on a journey specific to their area of need.

As you become more familiar with the process you may want to personalize your scripts or create your own based on your child’s interests. Experiment with what works for your child.

Guided imagery should be done in a quiet environment, away from interruptions, TVs and electronics. Playing soft, relaxing music can help shut out background noise. And using the same music each time can help create a sensory reminder for the body to relax.

Before starting a guided imagery script, guide your child through a relaxation exercise to make them comfortable and to deepen the experience.

Deep breathing exercises or progressive head-to-toe relaxation is effective. Many of these techniques can be found with the guided imagery scripts. As you introduce guided imagery to your child you’re creating a safe and special place for them to go.

They will journey to wonderful, peaceful places designed by themselves—places they can visit anytime they need to. Your child will meet personal guides—who may appear as people, animals, or spiritual figures—who will put them in touch with their own wisdom and healing powers.

As you guide your child through this experience, it’s important to allow them to have their own inner experience so provide lots of encouragement and opportunities for processing and reflection.

To maximize the benefits of guided imagery it should be practiced several times a week over several months. If your child is dealing with a specific problem or illness, daily practice is best. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Guided imagery scripts for kids


The big white house

This script helps older children and teens to gain perspective and deal with everyday stress.  (From Guided Imagery For Healing Children and Teensir?t=theminwor01 20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004JHYSWQ by Ellen Curran):

white castleImagine walking along a long white beach. You can hear the gulls and the gentle roll of the waves. Your feet sink into the warm, white sand. It is quiet and safe. You are alone walking into the soft sea wind. The sun is shining down on you, making you warm. You have been looking for a place to be quiet and comfortable. This feels as if it is your beach, yours alone.

You stop and stand, looking out over the immense expanding ocean. It shows its green top-water, its purple mid-water, and its gray powerful underwater. The colors are mixing and churning, creating the bubbly white crest at the top of each wave. The roll of each wave sounds like the Earth, breathing. O…cean. O…cean. Over and over again with each wave.  You feel the power of the ocean and the Earth.

A short distance ahead of you, you now notice a big, white house. It is beckoning to you. It looks like a temple or small castle of some sort. You walk towards it, relaxed and interested. Your follow a short path to the house and see that the large door is open. Your feel that it is perfectly OK for you to go inside. It is safe and calm.

You step out of the sunshine and into the coolness of this beautiful house. You find yourself in a huge hallway with plants and paintings. A magnificent, marble staircase stands before you. You know you want to go up those stairs. You become aware of a very heavy backpack that you have been carrying all this time.

The backpack is full of your worries, troubles, concerns, and negative feelings. You have been carrying them for a long time and you realize that this backpack is weighing you down. Your shoulders ache, and your back feels tight and stiff from all these feelings.

Slowly remove your backpack and with it all your worries and concerns. You feel released, free! You can now easily ascend the staircase. Each step you take, you become lighter, happier, and quieted. Each step brings you closer to absolute comfort and joy. The comfort and joy live in you, and now there is nothing to get in the way of feeling them, reaching them, having comfort and joy.

Now at the top of the stairs, you are strong and certain. A large window is open at the top of the stairs, and in front of it is a big, white comfortable chair. You sit down and face the window, watching the magnificent ocean once again. This time is yours. You watch from your chair, by your window in your house. Breathe in the soft ocean air, and know you are home.”

The magic shell meditation

This guided imagery script is for younger children and can help when worry and anxiety are a concern. (From Meditations for Mini’s by Debbie Wildi):

shellPlace yourself in a comfy, cozy position. Close your eyes and take a long slow deep breath. As you breathe out relax your body.

Imagine that you are standin on a beach. See the beach in your mind. Think about a beach that you may have visited, or you could use an imaginary beach if you like.

You can feel the sand beneath your toes and the sun is warm on your face. Look around you. In front of you is a huge ocean. It looks a silvery-blue colour and the sunlight sparkles like tiny stars dancing on the surface.

You look at the ground and in front of you in the sand is the most glorious shell you have ever seen. You pick it up. It feels warm. Notice how smooth the shell is. Feel it with your fingers. This is your magic shell. You can tell it your secrets and it will keep them.

You can also tell your shell any worries that you may have. Tell it about any problems that may be troubling you at the moment. No matter how big or how small they are. The shell wants to hear them.

Whenever you have worried feelings you can tell your shell about them and it will magically take those horrid feelings and turn them into good ones.

Now see yourself holding the shell close to your mouth. In your mind silently tell it whatever you wish. No one else will know what you say. Only you and your shell!  As you say your words they go right into the middle of the shell so that it can take them away for you. Tell your shell your worries right now….

Now you do not have to feel yucky feelings anymore. The shell has made them disappear. Just like magic!

They are gone!

As you hold your shell close all you feel is calm and happiness. You feel peaceful all the way from the tips of your toes, to the tip of your nose. Feel it right now. Notice how it feels.

It is important for you to know that you can imagine your shell whenever you wish to make yucky thoughts and feelings disappear, whenever you wish to feel calm. Your shell will always be there waiting in your imagination.

Of course, if you visit the seaside you can always look for your own real magic shell. How will you know it is magic? Just choose the shell that feels right for you, this will be the magic one. You can also use a magic stone if you like.

Find one of these in your garden, or in the street.

Here is an idea! Keep your magic shell or stone under your pillow to take away bad dreams and always bring you a peaceful sleep.

Perfect!

In our busy, distracted world, the concept of mindfulness and the practice of guided imagery are invaluable gifts you can give to your child. As they grow and face new challenges, guided imagery provides children with a lifelong tool that can help to build confidence, cope with stress and access inner wisdom.


image 1: child meditating via Shutterstock; image 2: white house via Shutterstock; image 3: shell via Shutterstock

  1. I used the shell meditation with my 7-10 year old yogis. They were very distraught by the shell and voiced concerns about it being found by someone else who would get their worries. They didn’t believe their worries just disappeared. I really never anticipated this being an issue, but we had to spend some time talking it through after. It made me look at guided meditations for kids very differently.

    1. As for the magic shell, I’m not sure that a child telling an imaginary shell their problems rather than an adult is a great idea, or promoting the idea – to adults or children – that bad feelings are something to get rid of rather than to be listened to and acted upon.
      Having said that, kudos for sharing creative visualisations for free.

  2. Hmm, I see that they recommend the shell meditation for younger children, but taking into account your experience, maybe it would be better for a slighter older group, like a group of 12-year-olds.

  3. I personally love the “give your worries away” technique. As we’ve come to learn, Worry and fear are facilitated by our emotions, which come and go like the tide. The more we practice awareness, noticing and labeling these thoughts and feelings, the better we get at not becoming our thoughts. I plan to do this with my younger group of meditators and allow them to pick and keep their shell. Thanks for sharing 🙂

  4. This worries me greatly. It is not a good idea to tell children that the shell will take their troubles away and it encourages secrecy rather than openness.
    Anyone who works with troubled children would know that this is not good for many reasons. I am sure that it is well intended but written without the necessary understanding of vulnerable children. I teach mindfulness to children but would not use this.

  5. I started the shell meditation with my 5 year of straight after the white household one. I hadn?t read it beforehand and I had to quickly change it a lot!

    Children should be encouraged to share their worries or secrets with a trusted adult, not to whisper it to a shell and everything will magically be fixed and the bad feelings will go
    away.

    I?m sure the intention is good, but I?m my opinion this is not a meditation which should be encouraged in children.

  6. Very disappointed in this guided imagery. Not appropriate for children to tell secrets to a shekk its facilitate stuffy feelings. Also doesnt end well

  7. I understand the complaints above about story number 2 but I still hik it is worth using and here’s why:
    1. As parents we so want to be that “trusted adult”. If we are good parents we encourage our children to share their fears and worries with us. Sadly, however, there are times when they just can’t. If they’re intelligent and caring they will realise that you, the parent, might be upset or sad if we think they’re not happy. So they’ll not always want to tell you. Or they’ll worry that whatever yucky thought is upsetting them is something that will make adults angry. I’m sorry to at that this is unavoidable. No matter how accessible an adult you are, there is always the possibility the child won’t want to share with you. That’s perfectly normal and healthy.
    2. It’s also possible that the child has not been able to understand with clarity the problems or troubles it has. Voicing those troubles clearly and accurately to a magic shell won’t help, but will empower the child to understand and then maybe to voice them to an adult.

    1. I actually do use the shell (in our case it is a stone) meditation with my daughter and we both do love it. The stone never became the “secret” object to turn to, it is rather something she can use for imaginary problems such as being afraid of a ghost at night or so.

  8. I actually do use the shell (in our case it is a stone) meditation with my daughter and we both do love it. The stone never became the “secret” object to turn to, it is rather something she can use for imaginary problems such as being afraid of a ghost at night or so. She often tells me what she told the stone and I tell her things that I tell it to mine. It makes her happy to know she has her stone and I am glad there is something she can use whenever needed and maybe nobody around at that time.

  9. Many thanks for sharing these beautiful free guided imagery meditations. They provide some fabulous ideas that are easy to adjust.

    Many children I work with don’t have an adult in their life whom they trust enough to share their problems with. They often tell me that adults ‘freak’ out about the strangest of things and are unpredictable, so I thought the shell idea would suit many children who have to cope alone…. although I’m guessing that the person who had taken the time to read them the meditation would hopefully be emotionally available enough to offer them support or guidance.

    Namaste ?

  10. I’m going to let my kids have their own shell to decorate and talk to. Something they can take home to talk to or keep in our class

  11. They often tell me that adults ‘freak’ out about the strangest of things and are unpredictable, so I thought the shell idea would suit many children who have to cope alone

  12. This worries me greatly. It is not a good idea to tell children that the shell will take their troubles away and it encourages secrecy rather than openness. Really very helpful post actually..!!

  13. You have really given very good information through this post to remove anxiety and stress, this information is very helpful for me, thank you wholeheartedly.

  14. This is the perfect webpage for everyone who hopes to understand this topic. You know a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a brand new spin on a topic that’s been written about for ages. Excellent stuff, just wonderful!

  15. I actually do use the shell (in our case it is a stone) meditation with my daughter and we both do love it. The stone never became the “secret” object to turn to, it is rather something she can use for imaginary problems such as being afraid of a ghost at night or so. She often tells me what she told the stone and I tell her things that I tell it to mine. It makes her happy to know she has her stone and I am glad there is something she can use whenever needed and maybe nobody around at that time.

  16. I personally love the “give your worries away” technique. As we’ve come to learn, Worry and fear are facilitated by our emotions, which come and go like the tide Anyone who works with troubled children would know that this is not good for many reasons. I am sure that it is well intended but written without the necessary understanding of vulnerable children. I teach mindfulness to children but would not use this.

  17. भईया जी आप बहुत अच्छी जानकारी देते है। मुझे भी आपकी तरह एक ब्लॉगर बनना है। आप अपने ब्लॉग पर सभी जानकारी बहुत विस्तार से समझाते है। अगर आपको याद होगा तो मैंने पहले भी आपकी पोस्ट में कमेंट की है।

  18. आप बहुत अच्छी जानकारी देते है। मुझे भी आपकी तरह एक ब्लॉगर बनना है। आप अपने ब्लॉग पर सभी जानकारी बहुत विस्तार से समझाते है।

  19. I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed your blog post on GUIDED IMAGERY: Use these scripts to help children cope with anxiety and stress. I found the information to be very informative and helpful.

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