The joy of being: making way for young children's natural mindfulness

This article offers a novel and timely context for understanding mindfulness practices in early childhood education. Positioned within a larger social context of mindfulness, we conducted an extensive systematic review of the literature to examine the scope and nature of mindfulness and early childhood. We found that mindfulness and young children constitute a growing area of interest globally which may be culturally determined as demonstrated in how these practices are perceived and implemented in early childhood settings. Although there was variability in the ways mindfulness practices were considered, all of the articles selected for this review discussed the positive outcomes associated with mindfulness for young children. Research and practice implications are offered.