I started using the tapping techniques on my own children and have found it such a blessing to have this tool.
Sometimes they don’t like having me tap on them and sometimes they love having me tap on them. Sometimes I use surrogate tapping to tap on them when I don’t feel the need to interrupt whatever it is they’re doing. Surrogate tapping is where I mentally tap on them by visualising myself tapping on the meridian points on their body. This is as effective as my concentration is.
I find surrogate tapping is also useful for playdays, when unfamiliar children come over that would not like to be introduced to some strange techniques of their friend’s mum. But for those friends that are comfortable with me I tend to lead them in tapping or tap directly on them and they tend to enjoy it. Initially these children are feeling insecure without having their parents around and appreciate the extra attention they get when I tap on them. Then once I have finished one round they tend to be relaxed, calm, and happy if they were in tears. I keep tapping on them until they decide they are ready to go play again. It’s like filling their emotional cup.
It’s useful when they become upset because someone is picking on them, someone’s not sharing, they fall-over, they lose, they “hate” eachother, etc. It can also just serve to settle a new child into the new play environment.
The setups I use are:
Even though… (discomfort stated here)…
“I feel loved by mummy and daddy anyway.”
“I know mummy and daddy love me anyway.”
“I am a good kid anyway.”
“I love myself”
Feeling their parent’s love seems to offer huge healing benefits for children since most childhood issues stem from a fear of not receiving enough love. Reinforcing the love of their parents is something young children relate to more than loving themselves or accepting themselves.
A really nice time to use EFT on children is at bedtime. All the days issues tend to pop up out of nowhere.
Two or three rounds of tapping can release fears and worries of the day, calm the over-excited mind, relax the child so that they feel ready to close their eyes and sleep. It works a treat for children that are over for a sleep-over and are missing mum or dad or when parents try to put their babies to sleep at your place so you can enjoy dinner.
Here are the phrases I use frequently on my kids at bedtime:
“Even though I have these fears and worries I picked up throughout the day, I choose to release them all now.”
“Even though my mind is active and over-stimulated, I choose to relax and rest my mind now.”
“Even though I still have some of these fears about (list whatever upsets they mentioned during the day) I choose to release my fears now and enjoy a deep sleep so that I wake feeling refreshed and energised for the day ahead.”
God Bless