Mindful Moments Blog

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Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom

Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom: Simple Tools for the New School Year

by Suzanne Tucker
Social emotional learning starts in everyday classroom moments. Explore simple SEL strategies teachers can use to build emotional literacy, support regulation, strengthen relationships, and create a classroom where children feel safe, understood, and ready to learn.
Woman kneeling to comfort a young boy, with illustrated hands exchanging a gray cloud for a red heart in the background

Positive vs. Negative Reinforcement: A Guide for Parents

by Alex Petrou
Learn how positive vs. negative reinforcement influence your parenting style and the ways positive reinforcers can support your child’s development.
Mother comforting her highly sensitive teenage son during an emotional moment, illustrating parental support, empathy, and teen mental health.

Helping Your Highly Sensitive Child Gain Confidence

by Rebecca Eanes
When our children are highly sensitive, rejection and criticism hurt more deeply. They get embarrassed easily and have strong emotional reactions, which can make them the target for bullying. Here are 5 tools to boost your child's confidence. 
Woman looking at an old childhood photo of herself, surrounded by illustrated hearts and clouds

Healing From A Childhood You Don't Remember

by Ashley Patek
While we may not remember our childhood with our mind and verbal words, our body keeps the score and stores the information it receives from our formative years, namely which parts of us to grow and which to shrink. These downloads show up as patterns in adulthood and in our parenting. Read more. 
Woman with eyes closed and hand on her chest, staying calm, with a flower graphic beside her

9 Mantras I Use When Low On Patience With My Kids

by Ashley Patek
Mantras can change the wiring of our brain and create a new lens to see ourselves, our kids, and the world at large. Here are 9 parenting mantras I use when low on patience with my kids.
of two young girls/ siblings fighting, one pulling hair

End Sibling Rivalry And Bring Peace Into Your Home

by Ashley Patek
Siblings are natural competitors for attachment, bidding for our love and attention. Here's 3 Parenting Do's and Don'ts when it comes to sibling relationships. 
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When Your Child Fears The Coronavirus: 8 Tips for Taming Anxiety

When Your Child Fears The Coronavirus: 8 Tips for Taming Anxiety

by Ashley Patek
As a parent, what do you do when your child has fears that feel out of their control - things like viral outbreaks and global warming? Learn 8 tips for taming fears and anxieties through connection.
Understanding Neurodiversity

Ask Andrew: Understanding Neurodiversity

by Guest Author
Hi! I’m Andrew from Generation Mindful's newest recurring weekly feature, Ask Andrew. I’ll be taking any and all questions regarding the autism spectrum with particular emphasis on childhood development as an authentic autistic adult. Today Andrew answers: What do you wish your classmates had understood about you/did differently?
Do you hold her?

Harlow

by Ashley Patek
This mama uses a poem to capture her experience of telling her son about his sister ... "What happened, mama? Why didn’t she come home? ... Her body laid so still at birth, I said, But her soul knew where to go."
Do you hold her?

Harlow

by Ashley Patek
This mama uses a poem to capture her experience of telling her son about his sister ... "What happened, mama? Why didn’t she come home? ... Her body laid so still at birth, I said, But her soul knew where to go."
Holiday Survival Guide For Parents: Managing Your Child's Meltdowns

Holiday Survival Guide For Parents: Managing Your Child's Meltdowns

by Ashley Patek
Here are some reasons why toddlers meltdown more during the holiday season followed by some easy tips to help regulate their environment and their moods.
Transforming Toddler Table Tantrums

Transforming Toddler Table Tantrums

by Ashley Patek
If you find yourself feeling the dinnertime blues when it comes to getting your child to eat, you are not alone. Here are 10 ways to transform toddler table tantrums. 
What's Wrong With My Clingy Toddler?

What's Wrong With My Clingy Toddler?

by Ashley Patek
Why is my child clingy, emotional and crying and what can I do about it? Here are 7 tools for parents with clingy toddlers.
Time-Outs Affect The Developing Brain

Time-Outs Affect The Developing Brain

by Guest Author
Separation-based techniques, like the popular time-out approach, use what children care most about against them.
Ask Andrew: Navigating Responses To Stimming

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?
How I Celebrate Being An Imperfect Mom

How I Celebrate Being An Imperfect Mom

by Ashley Patek
I closed the car door with my foot as I tiptoed my son’s birthday cupcakes inside.
3 Simple New Year’s Intentions for a Stronger Relationship with Your Child

3 Simple New Year’s Intentions for a Stronger Relationship with Your Child

by Rebecca Eanes
Practice these three intentions in the new year to rebuild or strengthen your parent-child bond and enjoy the fruits of a healthy relationship.
Post-Pandemic Schools Need More Than Academics

Post-Pandemic Schools Need More Than Academics

by Traci Esposito
Post-pandemic children have a lot to adjust to. And there is no cookie-cutter response because the mental health of our children is not one-dimensional. There is a spectrum of feelings and emotional stress taking a seat in the classroom this year. Here are some tools for nurturing social-emotional learning (SEL). 
Behavior Charts for Kids: Do They Work?

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

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?
92-Year-Old Shares Valuable Parenting Lesson

92-Year-Old Shares Valuable Parenting Lesson

by Ashley Patek
This 92-year-old woman shared with me this wisdom, and it changed the way I loved myself, and it eventually became a guide for how my children would learn to love themselves, too. 
Use Time-Ins To Decrease Defiance

Use Time-Ins To Decrease Defiance

by Rebecca Eanes
Want to decrease defiance? It isn't through punishment and Time-Outs. The answer is in Time-Ins, and here's why. 
They Saw A Bratty Kid, But That Wasn't The Whole Story

They Saw A Bratty Kid, But That Wasn't The Whole Story

by Ashley Patek
What they saw was a bratty child. A clingy child. A spoiled child. And underneath it all, they saw a mother who wasn’t doing it right. But that wasn't the whole story. Our behaviors were communication for so much more.
Acts Of Service Boosts Emotional Intelligence. Here's How.

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.