Mindful Moments Blog

Ask Andrew: Navigating Responses To Stimming

by Andrew Patterson

Andrew answers today's question: How do you deal with people making fun of stims? Especially loud vocal ones?

Speaking Your Child's Meltdown Language

by Ashley Patek

Understand the biology of a meltdown and how to speak your child's unique meltdown language.

Regulate Emotions Through Play

by Ashley Patek

How do we get under the meltdowns, tantrums, and big wants and desires fueling our tots? Learn how to use play and mind-body activities to increase connection, regulate emotions, and change undesirable behaviors.

De-escalation Strategies For Jingled Out Kids

by Rebecca Eanes

December is a sensory-overload kind of month. It’s loud. It’s busy. It’s flashy. For a lot of kids, it can be so overwhelming that they may just jingle all the way to a meltdown. For this reason, it’s good to have a few de-escalation strategies in mind. Here are 5.

How To Rediscover Emotions That Were Suppressed In Childhood

by Ashley Patek

Sometimes all that we need is a safe place to feel, except we don’t know how to feel a full spectrum of emotions because we were taught not to, and even if we did feel, we lack the language to communicate those feelings. Here's how to change the narrative not only for our mental health but our kids' too.

How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Outcomes

by Ashley Patek

Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect, and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain.

Behavior Charts for Kids: Do They Work?

by Traci Esposito

Behavior charts track behavior, but do they work in actually reforming it? Parents and educators can use this instead to nurture children's social-emotional skills and guide behaviors. Read more.

I'm Too Stressed To Handle My Child's Meltdowns

by Suzanne Tucker

My own emotional capacity is on E, and it makes it super hard to be emotionally available for my child during his big emotions. What do I do?

5 Ways To Use Positive Affirmations With Kids

by Ashley Patek

Positive affirmations help build a child's learning brain to nurture self-awareness, self-esteem, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. Here are 5 ways to use affirmations with kids so they'll stick.

Why Does My Teen Do That?!

by Rebecca Eanes

The teenage years are a critical time period for brain growth. The physiological changes that take place in adolescence cause behaviors that are often misunderstood. We explain them here.

A Strong Relationship With Your Child Gives You More Authority, Not Less

by Ashley Patek

As children learn to regulate emotions and learn higher-level skills through the safe space of a supportive caregiver, not only does it strengthen your relationship but it gives you more authority. Your children will want to work with you more than they want to work against you. Here's how.

Raising Emotionally Healthy Boys

by Rebecca Eanes

Forcing boys to repress their emotions is quite literally killing them, leaving lasting mental and physical health implications. Here are 4 things we can do to free our boys and men from social constructs of man up, toughen up, and dry up.

4 Ways To Guide Your Child's Misbehavior Without Yelling

by Ashley Patek

There are several ways that children appear to be misbehaving when, really, these behaviors are developmental passages that help them learn how to be human. Understand why misbehavior happens, and 4 tools to guide your child without yelling.

Woman holding a sleeping child, with old childhood photos and puzzle pieces showing missing memories

Why Can't I Remember My Childhood? Here’s Why

by Ashley Patek

Stress and trauma suppress and actually shrink the part of the brain responsible for emotional regulation and memory, making it hard for us to recall our youth. As we teach and guide our children and nurture their emotional intelligence, we regenerate our hippocampus so we can remember, feel and share, too.

Acts Of Service Boosts Emotional Intelligence. Here's How.

by Ashley Patek

Toddlers and teens alike have brains that are going through major biological transformations and family rituals like volunteering can help nurture their social-emotional intelligence. Here are 10 acts of service to do as a family this holiday season.

Building Resilience Through Connection

by Ashley Patek

Children are wired to bounce back from trauma when they have protective factors in place. Through connection with a supportive adult, and through increasing their social-emotional skills, a child's health and development can tip towards positive outcomes.

Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder and How It Can Impact a Child’s Social and Emotional Development

by Ashley Martin

SPD is a neurological condition that affects how an individual processes and responds to sensory information from the environment. Sensory inputs encompass various experiences, including touch, taste, smell, sight, sound, and movement. SPD can significantly affect a child’s social and emotional development. Early childhood educators play a pivotal role in recognizing, understanding, and supporting children with SPD.

Conventional Discipline Doesn't Align With Child Development. Here's What To Do Instead.

by Rebecca Eanes

As well-meaning parents, we second-guess ourselves instead of trusting our inner wisdom. We often feel the pressure to raise a “good” kid and be a “good” parent, and thus fall into the trap of conventional parenting. Here's how to escape the cycle.

Ask Andrew: Grandparenting

by Andrew Patterson

Andrew answers today's question: How can I, as the grandmother of a diagnosed five-year-old grandson be a solid support to him and his parents? I live in CA and they live in AZ.

You Can't Spoil A Baby With Your Love

by Ashley Patek

Keep holding them. Keep tending to their needs. Keep doing what feels right. It is impossible for you to spoil them with love.