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We can define mindfulness as the ability to pay attention and be present with all types of experience with open minded curiosity and kindness, developed through practice including mindfulness based meditations (Kabat-Zinn 2005).
Mindfulness is a valuable tool for parents, helping us to be in the moment with whatever arises, bringing awareness, kindness and compassion to ourselves first and then to others. Mindfulness allows us to pay attention on purpose with kindness.
Being mindful helps to reduce stress, improve emotional regulation and create a positive family environment, where gentle and respectful parenting flourish.
Mindful awareness helps us to recognise our habits, patterns and parenting challenges “I just did the same old thing again”. This is brilliant awareness as a parent, once we recognise our habits and patterns we can begin to change them.
Noticing without judgement. Noticing leads to changes in how we respond. Notice each time and your response may begin to change.
Practice: Take a few minutes each day to focus on your breath. Sit comfortably, close your eyes, and take slow, deep breaths. Notice the sensation of the breath entering and leaving your body. If we don’t let go of our breathe there is no room for a new one.
Practice the art of letting go, starting with your breathe. The more this is practised during moments that are peaceful the easier it will be to draw on your breathe in the difficult moments.
When you or your child are experiencing big emotions – pausing taking a breathe and saying to yourself :
1. This is a difficult moment for me and my child
2. Difficult moments are part of parenting, each difficult moment has a different degree or flavour.
3. May I be kind to myself in this difficult moment, place your hand on your heart or on your tummy and just breathe. This will allow you to bring awareness to yourself with kindness and compassion and in turn give this to others.
Practice: Lie down or sit comfortably and mentally scan your body from head to toe, noticing any areas of tension and consciously tightening and relaxing each part.
Practice: Jan Kabat -Zinn “Listening is an act of love”. When your child is speaking to you, give them your full attention. Listen without planning your response, simply being present with what they are saying. Listening is seeing the world from another's perspective - not necessarily agreeing with it.
Practice: Bringing mindful awareness to your meals and drinks, focus on the taste, texture, and aroma of your food. Smell can take us right back to a memory that we hold dear, notice if this happens when you slow down and breathe in what you are eating or drinking.
Practice: Take a few moments each day to reflect on things you are grateful for. You can do this individually or as a family. A gratitude journal can be a great tool to help us reflect on what has happened. Notice how it feels to be grateful for the things we take for granted, our breathe, our body, our movement.
Practice: Take a walk outside, paying attention to the sights, sounds, smells and sensations around you. Notice how your body feels with each step.
Practice: Incorporate mindfulness into your daily parenting routines. For example, during bedtime, create a calming ritual that includes deep breathing or a short meditation. You can choose some meditations from our collection.
Suggestions: Apps like Headspace, Calm, and Insight Timer offer guided mindfulness exercises that can be done in short sessions, making them easy to fit into a busy schedule. Revisit our Mindfulness practices above as often as you wish!
By incorporating these mindfulness practices into daily life, parents can create a more harmonious and nurturing environment for themselves and their children, helping parents to overcome parenting challenges.
Explore our Masterclasses and Discovery Programme offering pre-recorded content, course materials and live group sessions to help you support your little one.
