What is Mindfulness after all? Being mindful is a way of living, being fully aware of the moment that you are in. That means being truly present by learning to understand your emotions and how they affect you. Mindfulness is all about finding your own balance.
Mindful Parenting is about developing and deepening the parent-child connection by intentionally bringing focused awareness to everyday parenting situations. According to Daniel Siegal, author of Parenting from the Inside Out, this approach to parenting enables children to experience the full presence of their caregivers. It is a way of being attuned, parent-to-child, that fosters resilience and emotional intelligence. Mindfulness can also be thought of as having a sense of security as a parent. Research shows that the parent’s “state of mind” is the best predictor of how their offspring turn out in terms of their own attachment or capacity for close, caring relationships
Being a mindful parent brings many benefits. Children are taught skills to develop their awareness of their inner and outer experiences, to recognize their thoughts as “just thoughts,” to understand how emotions manifest in their bodies, to recognize when their attention has wandered, and to provide tools for impulse control and calming down.
3 mindfulness parenting techniques to help you being a “Mindful Parent”:
1. Notice your child’s point of view
2. Every situation needs attention
3. You can only work with the present
1. Notice your child’s point of view
Try everyday, for a few minutes, to see the world from your child’s eyes. This will help you understand how she faces her reality. By doing this you can think of how your child must be feeling in the moment. “How am I, as a parent, from my child’s point of view?”
2. Every situation needs attention
If it’s a good one, or a bad one. Being a mindful parent is about listening to your child’s needs, even when you disagree. You have the power on how to respond to a situation – with anger and stress; or with attention and acceptance. Learn to pause and take a deep breath, before responding. Help your child to feel noticed. Listen carefully.
3. You can only work with the present
Be accepting. Model to your child that you are fully aware of the moment that you are living together. Be present. Be aware of any tensions building up throughout the day and try to release them. Learn to keep your balance. Your child depends on you to foster a good environment, so communicate in a way that she will understand and will feel heard.
Being mindful is about being calm and aware of your surroundings. Be patient with yourself. Role model to your children the behavior you want to see in them. Practice being more flexible and loose the tension between you and your child. Try not to anticipate the future or regret the past. Live in the present.
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