Mindful Moments Blog

8 Children's Books To Nurture Inclusion

Mindful Moments Blog

8 Children's Books To Nurture Inclusion

by Ashley Patek
While June is a month to honor and celebrate those in the LGBTQ+ community, inclusion is not a one-time or one-month conversation. It is an everyday lived experience. Here are 8 children's books to nurture inclusion. 
kids arm and arm

Mindful Moments Blog

Children Need Less Academics and More Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom

by Ashley Patek
Starting school or starting a new school year can be stressful at the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic.
Parenting: Control Isn't The Goal. Here's What Is.

Mindful Moments Blog

Parenting: Control Isn't The Goal

by Rebecca Eanes
Nothing makes you feel like a failure quite like having a child you can’t control. Until you realize control isn’t the goal. Control starts to slip away as children grow, and you either have to up the ante to maintain that illusion of control or you have to accept the fact that you really don’t have control at all.
5 Therapeutic Art Activities for Emotional Health

Mindful Moments Blog

5 Therapeutic Art Activities for Emotional Health

by Rebecca Eanes
Art can help your child release and express feelings they may not know how to process and let go of otherwise. Use these 5 art activities to navigate loss, stress and transitions and to nurture emotional intelligence such as managing big emotions. 
The Harm Of Forcing Manners On Our Children (And What To Do Instead)

Mindful Moments Blog

The Harm Of Forcing Manners On Our Children (And What To Do Instead)

by Ashley Patek
If we want to step away from punitive measures and towards a deep understanding of manners, and an internal motivation to practice them, it stops with “say the magic word” or “say you are sorry” or “what do you say???” And it starts with these 5 tools. 
3 Ways To Transform Your Child's Behavior

Mindful Moments Blog

3 Ways To Transform Your Child's Behavior

by Ashley Patek
This mom was searching for a way to transform her child's misbehavior. And it was these three connection-based tools that did it.
Foster Families Are Making It Safe For Kids to Feel

Mindful Moments Blog

Foster Families Are Making It Safe For Kids to Feel

by Alex Petrou
One foster family shares how they are managing emotions on a daily basis in raising their five children.
Social Distancing Impact on Children

Mindful Moments Blog

Social Distancing Impact on Children

by Ashley Patek
We share parents' top concerns and frustrations about their children’s behaviors during this time of staying home, and tools for navigating regression and other stress responses.
10 Tough Emotions Parents Feel But Don't Talk About

Mindful Moments Blog

10 Tough Emotions Parents Feel But Don't Talk About

by Ashley Patek
Here are 10 feelings you may be feeling as a parent. There’s a good chance you aren’t talking about these feelings because they are the ones we fear others will judge us for, and they are the feelings we criticize ourselves for. It is when we notice and share those feelings that we find our way back to ourselves.
Ask Andrew: Facing The "I Don't Knows"

Mindful Moments Blog

Ask Andrew: Facing The "I Don't Knows"

by Andrew Patterson
Andrew answers today's question: I ask my daughter something and she replies “I don’t know” even if it is a matter of clear opinion. Like … “Shall we get ice cream? … Why is that?” After I reframe the questions she suddenly knows.
I Didn't Make My Kids Sit On Santa's Lap And They Are Better For It

Mindful Moments Blog

I Didn't Make My Kids Sit On Santa's Lap And They Are Better For It

by Ashley Patek
Children are wired to seek approval from their caregivers because it is how they are designed to survive. How we respond as parents to our children’s intuition and their bids to voice their consent greatly impacts their ability to speak their truth, set boundaries, and trust who they are. Read more. 
The Day My Son Told Me Mad Is Bad

Mindful Moments Blog

The Day My Son Told Me "Mad is Bad"

by Ashley Patek
When our children believe that unpleasant emotions are "bad", they become unsafe to feel those emotions. However all emotions are sacred and useful. Here's why. Read more.
8 Ways To De-escalate Your Child's Tantrums

Mindful Moments Blog

8 Ways To De-escalate Meltdowns With Your Child

by Ashley Patek
Teens and toddlers alike can demonstrate aggressive or uncooperative behaviors from time to time as influenced by big emotions and neurological overwhelm. De-escalation tools help parents defuse a situation and help their child calm and regulate their system.
What co-regulation looks like

Mindful Moments Blog

What Co-Regulation Looks Like

by Alex Petrou
A young child is so frustrated and overwhelmed that she just hit her big sister. As the adult responsible for managing this moment, how can you navigate this? Enter co-regulation.
Attachment is Not a Reward; It’s a Lifeline

Mindful Moments Blog

Attachment is Not a Reward. It’s a Lifeline.

by Rebecca Eanes
In using a time-in, my boys learned valuable skills they would never have learned by sitting in a corner. Did this produce perfect children? No. But this did produce securely attached children who no longer had to make desperate bids for the attachment they so instinctively desired. Read more. 
What Motherhood Has Taught Me

Mindful Moments Blog

The 12 Things I Now Know As A Mother

by Ashley Patek
Parenthood is the ultimate journey - not only in getting to know our children but in growing (and testing) ourselves, too. I have learned so much in my years of mommin’, and here are just a few. Maybe you can relate, too …
The Gift Of Life And One Mama's Fight For Her Son

Mindful Moments Blog

The Gift Of Life And One Mama's Fight For Her Son

by Ashley Patek
A mother's devotion to finding a cure for her son's rare kidney disease and to helping him manage his big feelings along the way.