Mindfulness Apps for Kids and Teens

    Helpful apps to teach coping strategies and mindfulness

    Updated at February 29th, 2024

    Disclaimer [ENGLISH]

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    DisclaimerThis material is for educational purposes only. You, the reader, assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it. It is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, nor does it replace the advice or counsel of a doctor or health care professional. Reference to a specific commercial product or service does not imply endorsement or recommendation of that product or service by CPCMG.

     

    For Kids

    Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame Street

    An app for young children to help teach problem-solving, self-control, planning, and task persistence skills. Kids learn as they help a Sesame Street monster friend calm down with belly breathing and solve everyday challenges. The website includes many other apps to help children cope with divorce, incarceration of a family member, emergency preparedness, autism, moving, and being part of a military family.

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

     
     

    Moshi Kids: Sleep and Meditation

    This app for younger children offers relaxing, kid-pleasing stories, music, and relaxing sounds coupled with cute characters to reduce bedtime stress and anxiety and promote mindful moments during the day.

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: kids
    • Cost: free trial with subscription 
     
     

    DreamyKid

    An app for guided meditation. Categories include general meditations (confidence-building, positive-thinking, etc.), sleep stories, affirmations, and issue-based guided meditations (ADD/ADHD, anxiety, overeating, etc.). 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: kids
    • Cost: free trial with subscription 
     
     

    Manatee & Me

    An app with evidence-based courses that focus on helping children conquer anxiety, depression, ADHD, general stress, and more. Also includes courses that focus on parenting. A “family-first mental health app for the modern world.” 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: for kids but to be used with parents
    • Cost: many free courses 
     
     

    Positive Penguins

    This app helps children understand why they feel the way they do. Four positive penguins take the user on a journey to understand that feelings arise from their own thoughts. The app content focuses on challenging negative thoughts to help see things through a more optimistic lens. It emphasizes that feelings come from thoughts, not situations, and that anxiety is therefore modifiable. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: kids
    • Cost: $0.99 
     
     

    Super Stretch Yoga

    This app uses a superhero character to guide children through yoga poses and breathing. Helpful for calming, mindfulness, and sensory integration. Focuses on self-awareness, self-esteem, and self-regulation. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: kids
    • Cost: free 
     
     

    Smiling Mind

    Smiling Mind is an extensive Australian mental health resource focused on mindfulness and developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to people’s lives. The website offers videos and resources for home, school, and the workplace. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

     
     

    Breathe 2 Relax

    This is a simple app developed by the U.S. Defense Health Agency to teach diaphragmatic “belly” breathing, which helps lower stress and anxiety. Graphics and narration lead users through several breathing exercises. It is described as a portable skill rehearsal tool. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free 
     
     

    Calm

    This is a popular app for sleep, meditation, relaxation, and sleep stories. Soothing bedtime stories, some narrated by celebrities, help users relax and fall asleep naturally. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free trial with subscription 
     
     

    7 Cups: Online Therapy and Chat

    This app offers free, anonymous, emotional support and counseling from trained active listeners. There is a text chat feature and listeners are available 24/7. Teens can also share their thoughts with peers. Described as “emotional support on demand. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free 
     
     

    Coloring Apps

    Happy Color

    This app is an electronic color-by-number app for mindless coloring. Includes an endless amount of pictures, including mandalas, flowers, and Disney characters.  

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free with in-app upgrades 

    Colorfy

    This app offers a relaxing electronic coloring experience. 

     Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free 
     
     
     
     

    For Teens/Adults

    HappyMe: Mood Tracker & Diary

    An app that helps users track daily anxiety levels on a calendar to track day-to-day progress. It includes access to an online community of users and a skills section for better understanding emotions, resilience and mindfulness, and effective communication skills.

    Click below on the icon to download the app:

    • Age: teens
    • Cost: free with in-app purchases 
     
     

    Headspace

    This is one of the more recognized mindfulness apps available. It focuses on teaching meditation and mindfulness skills from world-class experts. There are hundreds of guided meditations focusing on everything from sleep to anxiety and mind-body health.

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

     
     

    Insight Timer

    This app has received many awards as a meditation aid. It offers guided meditations and talks by top mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists, and teachers to help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply and improve happiness. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

     
     

    Smiling Mind

    Smiling Mind is an extensive Australian mental health resource focused on mindfulness and developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to people’s lives. The website offers videos and resources for home, school, and the workplace. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

     
     

    Mindshift CBT

    This app uses scientifically proven strategies based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to “help you learn to relax and be mindful, develop more effective ways of thinking, and use active steps to take charge of your anxiety.” Focuses on challenging negativity and developing effective ways of thinking.

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: teens
    • Cost: free 
     
     

    Breathe 2 Relax

    This is a simple app developed by the U.S. Defense Health Agency to teach diaphragmatic “belly” breathing, which helps lower stress and anxiety. Graphics and narration lead users through several breathing exercises. It is described as a portable skill rehearsal tool. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free 
     
     

    Calm

    This is a popular app for sleep, meditation, relaxation, and sleep stories. Soothing bedtime stories, some narrated by celebrities, help users relax and fall asleep naturally. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free trial with subscription 
     
     

    7 Cups: Online Therapy and Chat

    This app offers free, anonymous, emotional support and counseling from trained active listeners. There is a text chat feature and listeners are available 24/7. Teens can also share their thoughts with peers. Described as “emotional support on demand. 

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free 
     
     

    Coloring Apps

    Happy Color

    This app is an electronic color-by-number app for mindless coloring. Includes an endless amount of pictures, including mandalas, flowers, and Disney characters.  

    Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free with in-app upgrades 

    Colorfy

    This app offers a relaxing electronic coloring experience. 

     Click below on an icon to download the app:

    • Age: any
    • Cost: free 
     
     
     
     

    This publication was adapted from information within www.medicalhomeportal.org and goodbyeanxietyhellojoy.com

    Reviewed by:  HB M.D., PL M.D.  | 01/2024