Not Perfect Parenting and Mindfulness

By: Alex Petrou

"When I started my journey in motherhood, my greatest struggle was perfection. Wanting to reach high. Having these high, I would say unattainable, goals. And though I was doing all the crunchy mama wonderful things - babywearing, nursing, making my foods and you know, all these wonderful things, it was never enough. You know that feeling of being a hamster on a wheel? I was very present to that sort of not enough-ness in motherhood early on.

I was also very present to the isolation, to feeling alone, and yet I was here in my home town of St. Louis, Missouri where I was raised. I had family around me and every reason to feel supported and yet I struggled with that feeling of isolation and really just wanting to connect in a really authentic way to other moms. And this was 16 years ago so you have to remember, there was no Facebook."

"All of this has brought me to where I am today; to the classes I run for parents and all the products we've created via Generation Mindful. It's about being enough at the root of it all and lowering the bar. If our goals are too high, we can never reach them."

Watch the full video and hear more about:

• The difference connecting before you correct your kids can make in their listening.
• Practical applications of mindfulness in parenting.
• Why awareness is more important than being perfect.
• How mantras can inspire mindful parenting.
• The toddler years and how the card game PeaceMakers is helping parents to be more patient.
• The power of being enough and celebrating the little things.
• The power of daily playful rituals for parents, children and kids.

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