Mindful Parenting:
Nurturing Calm in a Busy Home
Parenting is often described as one of life’s greatest joys, but it can also be one of the most challenging roles. Amidst the whirlwind of daily life, finding moments of peace and genuine connection with your children can, perhaps, feel unattainable. Yet, it is precisely in these challenging moments that a mindful parenting practice offers a lifeline — giving you access to the experience your heart desires; peace, understanding, and joy in your relationship with your children.
How can Mindful Parenting help?
At its core, it involves bringing your full attention and awareness to the present moment with your children – a moment you won’t repeat and which will rapidly disappear as they develop and grow.
In this moment, you connect with your children without judgment about how well you parent, or how they should behave. It helps you stay attuned to your emotions and reactions, yet noticing their thoughts, feelings, and needs.
This meditation practice encourages us to respond to ourselves (every step in the parenting path is a new step) and our children (who don’t have the mental or emotional skills yet) with compassion and empathy. It helps us stay connected to this so we can stay open and curious through our hearts and minds to the complexities of parenthood.
How is Mindful Parenting Different from Mindfulness?
While mindfulness is a key component, the two concepts are not interchangeable. Mindfulness refers to the practice of paying attention to the present moment with openness and curiosity, without judgment. It can be applied to many aspects of life, including parenting.
On the other hand, it specifically focuses on applying mindfulness principles to our connection with our children. It involves nurturing qualities such as patience, acceptance, and compassion in our parenting style. We feel different, and children notice this and feel different and can respond with more balance and calm.
Does it really work?
Research suggests that parents who engage in these practices report lower levels of stress and greater satisfaction in their roles as caregivers. Children of mindful parents also tend to exhibit fewer behavioural problems and better emotional regulation skills.
Countless studies have demonstrated the positive impact of mindful parenting on both parental well-being and child development. In this Mindful Parenting Study it found that parents who were more mindful tended to practice more mindful parenting, which led to fewer behaviour problems in their children. Additionally, these mindful parents were also less likely to engage in negative parenting behaviors. This pattern was consistent across all age groups, suggesting that being mindful as a parent can positively impact children’s behavior regardless of their age.
In another Mindful Parenting Study, it explored how mindful parenting affects teenagers’ behaviour, focusing on 12 to 14-year-olds and their mostly female caregivers. They found that it led to less negative emotion from parents and more positive emotion shared during conflicts. This positive emotion during conflicts indirectly influenced adolescents’ substance use, suggesting that mindful parenting fosters a more positive emotional environment that can reduce risky behaviors in teenagers.
Research suggests that parents who engage in these practices report lower levels of stress and greater satisfaction in their roles as caregivers. Children of mindful parents also tend to exhibit fewer behavioral problems and better emotional regulation skills.
Try this…
If you are interested in more ideas/tools
Connected Kids program
