Mindful Moments Blog

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

Our words matter. Children receive messages from all around them and this includes the books, songs, and stories we share with them. Sometimes those messages are affirming and sometimes they are dismissive. Read how to make your words count to nourish your child's social-emotional skills.

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

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

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. 

I get it. I get all of it. The screams, the tears, the tantrums. Your bottom lip drops and your eyes brim with emotions. Sometimes you even turn away from me. That one rips my heart in two. Then the sun will peek through and the smiles will come...

I closed the car door with my foot as I tiptoed my son’s birthday cupcakes inside.

Behavior charts have been widely used over the past thirty years and while they may achieve the short-term goal of obedience, they miss the long-term goal of building the brain for life-long skills.

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.

  When I decided to back the Generation Mindful Kickstarter campaign for PeaceMakers, I had no idea that this choice would change the course of my family in an instant. This might sound like hyperbole, but I’m being completely serious. This card game has[...] Read More _____________ Generation Mindful creates tools, toys, and programs that nurture emotional intelligence through play and positive discipline. Join us and receive joy in your inbox each week.

By: Suzanne Tucker Have you ever worried that your feelings are too big or "too much" to be acknowledged... much less shared out loud with another human being? Today I'm sharing a personal story and a practice I use for sharing my emotions despite this fear so many of us adopted in childhood that our feelings are not valid and thus, not worthy of being shared.  I call BS. The truth is that our feelings are data. They are not "right" or "wrong" so much as they are information -- a glimpse into our inner world.  So many of us grew up having emotions like sadness, grief, confusion, jealousy, and rage dismissed or denied by often well-intended but misguided adults who were never taught how to listen to, empathize with, and/or regulate emotions themselves.  Like the majority of adults on the planet, the friend I wanted to share my emotions with was raised in a family system that believed emotions were: weak not valid in and of themselves  and thus, NOT safe to feel In this video, I share my experience of having my adult friend dismiss and deny my emotions when I shared my feelings, and how I responded. In the above 12-minute video, I walk you through: A short centering exercise (1-3:00 min) My experience of being dismissed (3-4 min) How this tied to my childhood (5-6 min)  Feelings as sacred (6-6:45 min) How I "permitted" myself to feel (6:45 min) A mantra to help us hold space for our kids (8:45 min)  We can learn to acknowledge ourselves and validate our own emotions. And, in modeling these things, we can teach others how to affirm and validate emotions as well --- making it safe for the next generation and for ourselves to feel. JOIN THE REPARENT YOURSELF MEMBERSHIP We don't control the people in our lives or how they react to our sharing --- but we DO control our thoughts, words, and actions.  I hope my experience helps you feel more confident in expressing your feelings regardless of how they will be met. Because this numbed-out world needs more sensitive people.  If you believe every child deserves to learn about their emotions, please check out our Reparent Yourself Membership, a community for change-makers like you, where we do not view the past as our destiny, but rather, our curriculum!  Join us! About the author Suzanne Tucker is the founder of Generation Mindful, a physical therapist, a parent educator of 30 years, and a mom of 4 (including twins!). Suzanne has been studying the art and the science of connection-based parenting for decades. Her life's work is to help families around the world find more joy and connection in their relationships.   Why Being a Sensitive Parent is a Good Thing 5 Ways To Nurture Emotional Intelligence For Kids 10 Simple Mindfulness Activities For Kids To Build Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence is More Than Naming Emotions The Ultimate Guide To Building A Calming Corner And Using Time-Ins At Home How do you say goodbye to time-outs and introduce time-ins? This is the ultimate guide on the do's and don'ts for building and using a Calming Corner. "Ready-To-Hang" Time-In ToolKit 0 Reviews $99.00 The Time-In ToolKit® playfully teaches kids 2-9+ how to navigate big emotions through social emotional skill-building games. Created by child-develo... View Product trauma-informed co-parenting Break Shame Cycles model to learn Triggers boundaries self love Communication emotional regulation emotions Breaking Generational Cycles positive self talk emotional intelligence mental health regulation self-compassion self-love

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 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.

This year, as parents we have had to level up our game as we navigate a global pandemic, racial injustices being brought to the forefront, civil unrest and so much more. At any one given moment, it’s hard to know whether I am thriving or just getting by. My daughter’s kindness came on a day where I was just skating by.

Students who have stronger relationships with their teachers invest more time in academics, earn better grades, report being more satisfied, and behave in more prosocial ways as they transition from childhood into adolescence.

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?

I gave SnuggleBuddies to my grandsons while they were visiting for Christmas to help them learn about feelings, but what happened next surprised me. You see, that Christmas morning, we had a situation, one that caused my dog to get very, very sick. My dog had gotten into some chocolate candy. My grandson tried to comfort our dog with the things that comfort them. Hank the elf, their SnuggleBuddies Red Bear and Orange Fox, blankets, and a balloon. When I found out that my husband had left the chocolates out where the dog got into them, I was furious. Having to deal with a sick puppy is bad enough, but to make matters worse, I have a rare neuromuscular condition (Myasthenia Gravis) that greatly affects my activity and breathing, and extra activity lands me in bed and on my noninvasive ventilator. I knew from past experience that a dog eating chocolate results in a very ill pooch with lots of cleaning up and a special diet. I wanted to enjoy our visit with the kids and the holidays...but I was angry. I knew my husband did not intend for this to happen, and I did not want to be in a bad mood for the evening while my family was visiting. But I was! That was when my daughter suggested the boys ask NayNay (me) if she wanted to “do her feelings”. They were excited about that and ran to get their SnuggleBuddies to share with me. Everyone listened and supported me as I went through my feelings. I began to feel better, and it dawned on me that I was actually setting an example for my grandsons. I also realized that had my grandsons and their SnuggleBuddies not been there, I wouldn't have talked about or worked through my angry feelings that quickly. I just love those things; they are so cuddly! I ordered myself a Red Bear. And don't tell, but Red Bear has already helped my husband with some of his feelings too. As a grandma, I love Generation Mindful. It makes me feel like I can really add to my grandson's lives in a lasting way. They live 15 hours away, so I don’t see them in person often. But it is so important to me that they know I SEE THEM!!! Sometimes my grandsons call/facetime me to tell me their sad or mad feelings...and I think, I can do this! I can be there for them. Despite any amount of distance or disability, I can listen. _____________ Generation Mindful creates tools, toys, and programs that nurture emotional intelligence through play and positive discipline. Join us and receive joy in your inbox each week.

Four tips to help parents create meaningful and effective in-home learning opportunities during the pandemic.

Get 51 positive affirmations for kids that you can start using today. Plus, learn how they work, why they work, and fun ways to implement them at home.