A study by the Medical College of Georgia found that two 15-minute meditation sessions each day - once at home, the other at school - helped teenage students lower their blood pressure over four months. Their blood pressure even continued to drop for four months after the meditation sessions ended, researchers said.  Rising blood pressure runs the risk for developing hypertension.  A study was conducted to see if meditation could lower blood pressure.  It was known that meditation calms the mind and produces better thoughts but getting into the mind of children and adolescents was the challenge.

Of 5,000 students screened researchers found 156 had high blood pressure. Half of that group received the meditation sessions while the control group was placed in health education classes. All  wore blood pressure monitors 24 hours a day.

The control group did not have any reduction in blood pressure, according to the study in the American Journal of Hypertension.

One in four adults have hypertension, which is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and health officials say teens who have higher-than-normal blood pressure are more likely to develop the chronic disease when they're older.

"It's no longer considered to be an adult disease," said Vernon Barnes, a physiologist at the medical college and lead author of the study.   "Besides reducing their blood pressure, students who meditated also had lower rates of absenteeism, school rule violations and suspensions than those in the control group. It's noteworthy for educators - meditation might be included in the school day as a program for reducing stress in the schools."

Channel 7 News Reports:  A Detroit school is using Transcendental Meditation in their curriculum and reports a high increase in test scores and improved conduct for all of their students.  The students are eager to attend the early morning assemblage to experience the positive vibrations of their collective meditators.  The cost is $2,500.00 per student.

Piqua Press offers a much less complicated Meditation Program at a cost of only $399.00 per student and is of Native American origin.  The Program does not infringe upon any religious beliefs held by the student or his family.

Mary Minner, the school counselor at Rosemary Hills Primary School in Silver Spring, Md., tends to the emotional needs of more than 500 students in kindergarten through second grade. She has learned young people are not immune to stress.

The goal is to help them find that quiet on the inside, in a world where inner quiet is all too rare, especially since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Much has been done to overcome trauma, be it divorce, serious illness or the death of a loved one, she said.

Ms. Minner teaches her charges that positive thinking can control anxiety.

Dr.Georgia Witkin, director of the Stress Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan, said childhood is more stressful than ever, but not for the reasons that most people think. Young people cope with day-to-day stresses like taking tests, competing in sports, being invited to the right birthday parties and staving off playground bullies. Headaches, stomachaches, crying and yelling are also signs of stress. Other signs go undetected, including nightmares and a tendency for a child to want to be alone.

Dr. Witkin, surveyed nearly 1,000 children from 5 to 11 and discovered children feel stress not because they are overbooked, but because their parents are. Every other generation saw parents going through hardship. But they also saw family meals or playing in the street.

Dr. Edward Christophersen, a clinical psychologist at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo. said the best predictor of how a child will cope with stress is how the parent copes,  If a stressed mother goes out for a jog, meditates or practices yoga, she is teaching other ways. Children need to be taught how to cope. Parents are supposed to do the same.

Dr. Marc A. Nemiroff, a clinical psychologist in Potomac, Md. said temperament plays an important role in stress. Some are more prone to anxiety than others.

Dr. Melanie Jones, a clinical psychologist in Overland Park, Kan. uses what psychologists call visual imaging.  She teaches children to imagine they are somewhere else when their environment becomes too stressful for them.

Dr. Dorothy Youngs, counseling supervisor for the Piscataway, N.J., schools said new methods are increasingly being taught in schools. "If kids can manage stress and feel better about themselves, they will do better in school."

  The Medical and Educational fields view stress as the major contributor to many of the problems arising in children.

“Children, Even Infants, Not Getting Enough Sleep, Parents Too.”

The influx of counterparts, mostly senior in age, are disrupting the sleep patterns in children of all ages world wide.  Their young minds are often overwhelmed with mature information & ideas which confuses their inexperienced minds.  This phenomenon cannot be eliminated, but it can be brought under control via The My Quiet Time Meditation or My Secret Source Meditations for children.  Reading or being read to, for a half hour before bedtime will control the problem.  The story line of these special books, creates a thought mode which allows the child to establish a base of control of his/her own mental functions.  This, in turn, provides the necessary peace for a good night’s sleep.  This is a boon to the weary parents who also suffer the loss of sleep, or “good” sleep for the same reasons.  Counterparts arriving can be a blessing, not a menace, if meditation is used to organize their behavior.

A poll conducted by AT&T in October of 2002 revealed that 80% of all adults agreed to the importance of reading to children on a daily basis. The need is recognized and it is popular with most parents.  Unfortunately some parents conclude reading to their children serves no useful purpose.  Reading in sync with the MY QUIET TIME PROGRAM produces tangible results which are readily seen.  Reading is never a waste of time.

These books are designed to promote a child's interest in reading which will establish good reading habits for the lifetime while it familiarizes the child with the computer.