Welcome to Mindfully Growing
A Research-Based Mindful Eating Program for Young Children and Their Caregivers
Think about the last time you really tasted your food. Not just ate it — but actually paused to notice the color, the smell, the texture before taking a bite. For most of us, that kind of attention is rare. We eat on the go, in front of screens, between tasks. And our kids are learning from us every step of the way.
The good news? It doesn’t take much to start changing that. Small moments of curiosity around food – noticing, exploring, and slowing down together – can make a real difference in how children relate to eating. That’s the heart of Mindfully Growing. Developed by an interdisciplinary team with expertise in Nutrition and Child Development, our program helps children and their caregivers better understand where food comes from, tune into the experience of eating, and find more joy in sharing food with others.
What is Mindful Eating?
Mindfulness simply means paying attention, on purpose, to what’s happening right now (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). When we bring that kind of attention to eating, something interesting happens. We start to notice the colors and smells of our food, the sounds it makes, the way it feels in our hands before it even reaches our mouths. We also start to notice what’s happening inside us — are we actually hungry? Are we starting to feel full?
For young children, this kind of awareness is something we can gently help them practice. And the classroom and dinner table are perfect places to start.
How Can Mindful Eating Help?
Research tells us that mindfulness practices support children in some really meaningful ways — including improved emotion regulation, stronger attention, and better social development (Flook et al., 2015; Schonert-Reichl et al., 2015). When those practices extend to food and mealtimes, the benefits grow: children become better at recognizing when they’re hungry and when they’re full, and are less likely to eat in response to emotions rather than appetite (Frankel et al., 2012).
For preschoolers especially, building these skills early — in a playful, low-pressure way — lays a foundation for a healthy relationship with food that can last a lifetime.
Mindfully Growing
The Mindfully Growing curriculum guides children and caregivers through this journey together. Across 10 hands-on lessons, children explore where food comes from, engage all five of their senses with different foods, learn to tune into their bodies’ hunger and fullness signals, and celebrate the experience of sharing food with others. The program also weaves in weekly yoga and breathing practices to help children develop the body awareness and self-regulation skills that make mindful eating possible.
We believe that when children are curious about food — not pressured, just invited to explore — something wonderful happens. They start to try things they might have passed on before. They slow down. They pay attention. And so do we.
Try It Together: The First Bite Practice
Want to experience a little mindful eating right now? Try this simple practice the next time you sit down for a snack or meal with a child — it works just as well at the kitchen table as it does in the classroom.
Pick up one piece of food — anything works: a raisin, a grape, a cracker — and before anyone takes a bite, explore it together:
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Look
What color is it? What shape? Does it look the way you expected?
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Smell
Bring it close and take a big sniff. What does it smell like? Does it remind you of anything?
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Listen
Give it a little squeeze or tap. Does it make a sound?
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Touch
How does it feel in your fingers? Is it smooth, bumpy, soft, or hard?
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Taste
Now — take one slow bite. What do you notice first? Does the taste change as you chew?
There are no right or wrong answers.
The whole point is just to notice — and to notice together. You might be surprised what comes up!
This is exactly the kind of practice at the heart of Mindfully Growing. To learn more about how the program can support the children and caregivers in your community, click here.
References
Flook, L., Goldberg, S. B., Pinger, L., & Davidson, R. J. (2015). Promoting prosocial behavior and self-regulatory skills in preschool children through a mindfulness-based kindness curriculum. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 44–51.
Frankel, L. A., Hughes, S. O., O’Connor, T. M., Power, T. G., Fisher, J. O., & Hazen, N. L. (2012). Parental influences on children’s self-regulation of energy intake. Journal of Obesity, 2012, 327259.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. Hyperion.
Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Oberle, E., Lawlor, M. S., Abbott, D., Thomson, K., Oberlander, T. F., & Diamond, A. (2015). Enhancing cognitive and social–emotional development through a simple-to-administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 52–66.
