Mindfulness apps: A child’s perspective

One of our counsellors asked her 12-year-old son and his friend to test out some popular mindfulness apps. Here is why she asked them to and what they found out…

“There are a few Mindfulness Apps specifically for kids that come recommended but as a counsellor before I recommend them to children and families I work with, I wondered how easy they would be for kids to access and use.   So I asked Louie and Nate, both 12,  to try out some popular Mindfulness Apps to see what they thought.  I chose Headspace for Kids, Insight timer, and Calm.”

They looked at:

• Accessibility for a 12-year-old

• Useability for a 12-year old

Nate liked Headspace for Kids. He found it easy to download and use and the available activities were high quality.  But he found that most of the activities came with the paid subscription.  This was Louie’s favourite Mindfulness app, easy to download and navigate and he found their sleep activities surprisingly helpful. 

Nate’s favourite was Insight Timer.  Easy to download and mostly easy to navigate with a couple of tricky bits.  High-quality activities. This also had more activities on a paid subscription. 

Nate was new to Mindfulness and found it great for ‘clearing my head’.   

Nate couldn’t download Calm due to parental settings.  Louie gave up fairly quickly too.

Both boys used an Android phone to review.