Recruiting

Teaching Young Children Mindfulness for Better Mental and Physical Health

Plain-English translation of NCT06597474 on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗ · Source last updated September 2025 · Translation generated June 2026 · How we translate trials

Phase 3 — Testing in thousands of people, comparing the treatment against what doctors currently use. This is the last big step before approval.

What is this trial?

This study is testing whether a 16-week program called Food-Body-Mind Intervention can help preschoolers and their caregivers improve mental, emotional, and behavioral health. The program teaches children mindfulness skills like yoga and deep breathing, and it teaches parents how to practice mindfulness at home with their children. Researchers believe this whole-family approach could help reduce stress and improve overall well-being in young children.

Mental and emotional problems are common in young children, and children from low-income families face even higher risks. This study exists to see whether teaching mindfulness and healthy habits early on can help prevent these problems and reduce health inequalities based on income and where families live.

Do you qualify?

You likely qualify if…

you are the primary caregiver of a child ages 3–5 attending a Head Start program
your child has parental consent to participate (and verbal agreement if your child is 5 years old)
you have internet access at least weekly using a smartphone, tablet, or computer
you are willing to use Facebook or a private program website to stay connected with the study

You likely don't qualify if…

your child has a motor disability or impairment that prevents them from doing physical activities
your child has a medical condition requiring a restricted diet (such as phenylketonuria or a severe food allergy) that would prevent dietary changes
your child has severe autism or another diagnosed condition causing major difficulty with communication and social interaction

What participation looks like

If you and your child are selected, you'll be placed in either the intervention group or the usual care group. If you're in the intervention group, your child will participate in mindfulness activities at school (like yoga and breathing exercises) for 16 weeks, and you'll learn mindfulness and healthy parenting practices to practice at home through Facebook or a private website. Both groups will complete follow-up assessments at 12 months to see how the program is working. The study will run for 5 years total as researchers track multiple groups of families.

AI-generated summary from trial data · Jun 5, 2026 · Not medical advice

Trial locations(1 site)

United States

Community Action Agency, Jackson, Michigan