I received an email from a mom asking if it was possible to teach very young children how to ground and protect themselves. The answer is a resounding YES! All the better, it is a great way to start them off at a young age of learning to care for themselves by making it a 
daily routine.
Grounding is a key issue for many of us. We function with more clarity and purpose and there is an ease with life and our decisions when we are centered and grounded.
The key to making this work for the very young (18 months and above) is to allow it to appear as play, as an essential part of their day that is joyous and often silly. One exercise to do that they will carry and use their entire lives is envisioning their body as a tree. Stand tall, sink your roots into the ground, and stretch your arms up into the sky just like a tree’s limbs climb up to the heavens. Participate with them, sway your “branches,” and perhaps make it an outing in the future where they can pick their own tree to mimic; this will keep this exercise interesting to them. Imagine the roots feeling the different energies of the earth as they go deeper and deeper. Say hello to the bugs and worms that they would pass on their way down! Keep it silly and fun but at the same time knowledgeable!
Another way to ground and rid the body of energies that are unnecessary is dance. Put on some music and have a dance party around the house. This will also boost energy and raise the vibration of all participants.
Protecting an energy field of a young child can be a process that might take a bit more time, but it is very much something they can and need to learn early on. Pretend to be butterflies, spreading your wings wide. Explain how the butterfly wings can be a net, and sometimes what they catch in the net isn’t good for them, so it’s necessary to pull the wings tight and close to their body. This is just like their auric field, which can catch many energies as they go about their day. Do this with them regularly, making it a part of their daily routine, just like brushing their teeth and other care of their bodies. In time, they will learn to warn you it’s a good time to pretend to be a butterfly and pull wings close instead of you suggesting it to them.
Have a group that seems to be fighting and just not holding it together? JUMP! That’s right, jump! Take them outside to a patch of grass and jump. This grounds their energy into Mother Earth as she sends her energy to them, taking away their more unseemly behavior as they continue to jump up and down. You do it too! It never fails to make every one laugh and let go of their anger.
Before heading out for the day, learn to zip up! Imagine there is a long zipper along the front of your body. Extend your arm down low, and zip up a protective shield over you body, all the way up to the top of your head! This zipper movement is meant to protect against negativity and psychic attack while outside the home.
The Celtic Weave is a series of movements that work with your meridians. The Celtic Weave is a series of hand movements along the body that adults and youth can do together before leaving home to help protect from psychic attack. The best way to learn is through demonstration, here is a video of the Celtic Weave. We have practiced the CW at our Blue Papaya Youth Group, and we found it is easy to learn after practice, and very easy to do on others.
Take these basic tools and add the knowledge and laughter that you know is appropriate for your own little ones, or those of friends and family you are assisting. Own the practice so that the child learns to listen to their own body and knows what can assist them-these tools you’ve played!