Meditation and mindfulness are not just for adults. Kids have plenty of stressful stuff on their minds too, and it can make them anxious, affect their focus, and interfere with their sleep. While children can benefit from the same tools as adults, they respond more readily when they're presented in a way that's appealing and easy to understand.
And something kids certainly understand is apps, which drive them to clamor for your phone. This makes apps an ideal way to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into children's lives. A study published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting found that younger children engage with such apps mostly for help with sleep, while older kids use them to reduce stress, depression, and anxiety.
I've been using and evaluating meditation and mindfulness apps for over a decade. When I looked for the equivalent for kids, I assessed some of the most popular ones, searching for the features I find helpful for myself but that are geared toward children. I also evaluated how robust and useful their content is for sleep and mindfulness, and how child-friendly they are, so that kids can navigate them themselves. And I recruited my eight-year-old niece to try the apps, so I could see them in actual practice.
Below are the apps that made the cut. The benefits of using them will last far beyond the time your child spends with them.
Calm
Parents who already have the Calm app can find plenty in it for their kids as well. Navigate to the Calm Kids section for mindfulness programs, music, soundscapes, and nap stories. Some of the content features familiar faces, including Peppa Pig, Gabby of Gabby's Dollhouse, Thomas & Friends, and the Minions. Calm is available on Android and iOS for $14.99 a month, $69.99 a year, or $399.99 for a lifetime.
Cosmic Kids Yoga
Pretty much everyone with small children looking for something to do with them during the pandemic found Cosmic Kids Yoga. The YouTube channel is filled with hundreds of hours of highly entertaining videos that lead kids through yoga and mindfulness, many of which are themed with their favorite characters like Mario and Luigi, Elsa, and Mirabel, as well as those from the imagination of its beloved founder and star, Jaime Amor.
With the popularity of her YouTube channel, Amor created the Cosmic Kids Yoga app. It’s a totally ad-free, more organized way to access all of the Cosmic Kids videos. The app organizes the videos into sections for Mindfulness, Relaxations, Bedtime, and, of course, Yoga. Parents can download videos which is very useful for travel or just a day out.
The app is aimed at kids aged three to nine but those a little younger and a little older should love it, too.
A subscription to the Android or iOS app is $9.99 a month or $64.99 a year and also includes ad-free access to Cosmic Kids across platforms (YouTube, Roku, Fire TV) as well as exclusive videos.
Headspace
Headspace (for iPhone)
Headspace is one of the premier meditation apps for adults, but it also offers lots of features for children. The colors and illustrations used throughout are kid-friendly, so children can use the five deep-breath exercises guided by cartoon drawings, and they'll appreciate the Star Wars Find Your Force section of mindful activities. In a Sesame Street x Headspace collab, favorite characters teach them how to handle emotions and settle them in for bedtime.
Headspace groups meditations by age, for the under-five set, six- to eight-year olds, and nine- to 12-year-olds. It also has a Student Essentials section that’s helpful for kids in middle school and older. Parents will be glad to know that the app offers plenty of support, including meditations on coping with worry and dealing with feelings of frustration, as well as advice on how to help kids balance screen time, focus, and cope with their emotions. Headspace is $12.99 a month or $69.99 a year, on Android and iOS. Students can get Headspace for $9.99 per year and a family plan with up to six accounts is $99.99 per year.
Moshi Kids
The big-eyed Moshi cartoon characters immediately clue you in that the app is geared toward children ages two to eight. It has well-organized Day, Play, and Night sections. Play features coloring, puzzles, and memory and matching games that can keep very young kids calm and occupied. Day is divided into Meditations, Moments, Music, Sounds, Breathing, and Songs. Night comprises Stories (single-serving bedtime stories arranged by themes and age), Series (character- and theme-driven series of stories), Sleep Meditations, Music, Lullabies, and Sounds (including white and pink noise and soundscapes).
The app also offers helpful exercises designed to teach meditation techniques to young kids as well as exercises geared toward easing anxiety, calming down, and building self-confidence. The ability to create custom playlists is useful for morning and bedtime routines. Moshi Kids is $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year, available on Android and iOS.
Ninja Focus
Despite the name, Ninja Focus isn’t focused on focus: It’s a full-featured app for kids ages three through 12. It offers Yoga, Mindfulness, Meditation, Sleep, and Music sections. Kids who could use some words of encouragement can listen to Pep Talks (and the app includes some for parents, too).
A feature called Mood lets kids choose their current mood and get content specifically created around that feeling. Those who are a bit older can use features such as journal prompts to explore their emotions. Also available is help in falling asleep with music, background sounds, and bedtime stories. A playlist feature lets parents or kids set up routines. Ninja Focus is available on Android and iOS; $9.99 a month or $59.99 per year.
Piku
Piku is focused purely on meditation. The app is divided into six categories: Magic Journey, Bedtime, Calm, Love and Kindness, Emotions, and Focus. Even the meditations that deal with bigger topics, such as learning boundaries and overcoming shyness, are presented using friendly characters as examples for kids. The app is geared toward kids ages three to 12, and it's available on Android and iOS for $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year.
Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind is a collection of services that are geared toward adults but can also be used by kids. The kid-oriented section of the app has lessons, activities, and meditations to help kids understand emotions, build relationships, develop their confidence, increase their emotional intelligence, become flexible thinkers, and take responsibility for their emotional well-being and actions. Smiling Mind also offers meditation, advice, activities, and sleep help for kids ages three to 18; which are found in the Kids, Youth, Families, and Classroom sections. Smiling Mind is the only app on this list that is free; it's available on Android and iOS.