Mindfulness apps for kids

April 2020

Can a mobile app help children develop the skills they need to become more resilient, increase their well-being or bring calm to their lives? Our panel of experts review three apps for children that claim to do just that.

For each app, we provide guidance on several background factors practitioners should consider when selecting mobile apps for children. Next our panel of psychologists rates and reviews three top apps for children: Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame; Smiling Mind; and Mindful Powers.

*The following mobile apps are not billed as a mental health apps nor are they designed to be used for symptom reduction.

Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame is a free interactive app for children ages 2 to 5 and their parents that aims to help children build resilience through practicing problem-solving skills. The app teaches a three-step method: “Take a deep breath, think about what to do next, and give the solution a try.” Using touch screen technology, children are encouraged to help a friendly monster take deep breaths, think of plans and try them out to get through a challenging situation. The app also provides tips and strategies for parents on patience, overcoming mistakes and more, as well as curriculum guides, songs and videos.

Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame is a well-done, inviting, colorfully animated free interactive application which engages young children and their parents/caregivers to learn adaptive coping strategies through a mindfulness approach to increase resiliency and socioemotional wellness. In practice, I recommend asking parents/caregivers to use it with their child daily for 3 to 5 minutes to begin teaching and learning the strategy and then encourage using the mindfulness approach in real time with a challenging situation for their child together either with the app or using the approach together, or even with a stuffed animal.
—JoAnna Romero Cartaya, PhD

The Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame app provides an easy way for caregivers and teachers to teach breathing and problem-solving skills to young children. Even though it is designed for children up to age 5, my 7-year-old child enjoyed the app very much. The app and additional resources are great resources for caregivers. The app has five scenarios that deal with an issue that would frustrate and anger a pre-school child. Each scenario has three possible solutions, which gives a total of 15 solutions. I worry that children may become bored with the app quickly. So, parents will want to think about ways to combine the app with the additional resources to extend interest in the app.
—Charmain F. Jackman, PhD

Smiling Mind is an Australian nonprofit offering mindfulness and meditation programs for all ages. To achieve their purpose — equipping young people with the integral skills they need to thrive in life — the organization offers free comprehensive programs geared specifically toward different populations, including adults, youth, family, classroom and workplace individuals and groups. Their program can be used as an app or from a computer. While they do have a couple of modules for children age 3 and older, a wider variety of options is available for those over age 7. The application is based on empirical research from multiple disciplines and provides information, learning, tools, and content to engage in a daily mindful practice.

I would recommend this application to other psychologists given its applicability to a wide range of users in terms of age and environments (e.g. school, workplace). I like that it provides meditations that are developmentally appropriate — fun, engaging and creative for young and school-aged children and teens on a wide variety of topics and situations to keep users engaged. The app also provides guides for parents and caregivers. The app is free, which makes it easier to recommend to clients. Although aesthetically not as beautiful as some of the meditation apps out there — it makes up for it and then some with the extremely well-developed, thoughtful, creative and evidence-based content without the unnecessary or distracting frills. I would ask clients (i.e. child, teen, and caregiver/parents) to use this app regularly to establish a mediation practice (app recommends 10 minutes a day).
—JoAnna Romero Cartaya, PhD

I highly recommend Smiling Mind. It is a thorough, well designed mindfulness meditation app that is amazingly adaptable to individuals, groups and families. It also works effectively with different age ranges, and with individuals and groups. I haven’t seen anything with this sophisticated curriculum for the classroom, from preschool through senior high school and adult. I will be using this with clients!
—Mary O'Leary Wiley, PhD, ABPP

Mindful Powers is an app designed for children ages 7 to 10 to build social-emotional learning through play. Through a series of interactive, voice-guided sessions (meditations) children learn to master mindfulness so they calm their thoughts and improve focus. The app also has a focus timer so children can set a specified amount of time to concentrate on a given task. Three of the 10 available sessions are free. The package of remaining sessions is $4.99.

Mindful Powers is a well-designed app that provides accurate information about mindfulness strategies for children, while also engaging them through play. I especially liked that the app is able to detect whether a child is rushing or being too rough and its ability to provide feedback to children to slow down or to be more gentle. The app is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and is also grounded in mindfulness/stress reduction and child development. As a result, I would definitely recommend it to other psychologists. I could easily see myself using the app in-session with clients to teach and reinforce skills around breathing and mindfulness. Designing an app that appeals to both children and caregivers is not an easy feat, and I applaud Mindful Powers in their effort to think about parents. The major drawback is that the app is only available in English.
—Charmain F. Jackman, PhD

Mindful Powers can be moderately recommended for children, perhaps a bit older than the 7 to 10-year-old range, who are from socio-cultural groups that will identify with the metaphors and language used in the narrations. However, there are several caveats to that recommendation. As a psychologist working in a pediatrician’s office, I would not use the app because of its:

• Rigid requirement to matriculate through each lesson before the next skill is provided.
• Repetitive use of the smoothing and petting functions for the app character before accessing the lessons.
• Lack of any replicated studies or adequate scientific evidence of its capacity to translate the outcomes of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and mindfulness strategies through technology. 

It is not clear that Mindful Powers provides any better, or even similar clinical outcomes to its alternatives, such as the Unified Treatment Protocol designed for use with for children.

— Kevin D. Arnold, PhD, ABPP

(categories rated from 1-5, with 5 being the most positive score)

(categories rated from 1-5, with 5 being the most positive score)

Applications reviewed February 2020

This column discusses various software and applications available to psychologists for their professional use. The views expressed in this column are the views of the authors and do not reflect the views of the American Psychological Association (APA) or any of its divisions or sub-units. All authors have no financial interests in the apps or software discussed. APA does not recommend or endorse any practitioners, products, procedures, opinions or other information that may be mentioned in this column; those who use these applications or products do so at their own risk. Please send updates and feedback about apps to Communications Office Staff.