Meditating Mummy Tries Meditating with Kids

I have now decided to have my kids ‘sit’ with me whilst I meditate. ‘Sit’ being the operative word of course… not stand, not run around me in circles and not speak in hushed (but extremely loud) whispers thinking I can’t hear. I have given up complaining about the lack of time and insisted on a spiritual gathering in the mornings this summer for as long as my kids can bear it; usually about 10 mins. Pretty good for young ones I think. My eldest usually tries pretty hard and since she tends to become a wee bit stressed with new situations, I’m excited that she can use meditation as a tool to calm her self down, calm her mind and center herself before facing her ‘stress’. My youngest is usually enthusiastic, but bounces off the meditation cushion just as quickly, however, not before they both fight over who gets to sit on which part of the cushion- really??? there’s only so much room on the cushion, how can they possibly fight over that I often wonder.
I lead them in a simple in-breath, out-breath exercise until they feel a little focused. My house is fairly quiet unless someone rings the doorbell. I allow various fidgety moves, itchies on the skin and one eye open with the other intently shut. Usually the breathing exercise is pretty successful and I manage to send my kids off to read quietly without bouncing off the walls, allowing me a few extra minutes to sit in peace. This, I found, is the only way to meditate in the summer with the kids at home. I was counting on more time, counting on at least 30 mins a day… at this point I will take quality over quantity and feel somewhat better for involving my darlings in such a wholesome activity.