Mindful Moments Blog
Mindful Moments Blog
A Positive Classroom Environment Helps Kids Succeed In School and Life
by Alex Petrou
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.
Mindful Moments Blog
by Suzanne Tucker
Join Selina as she leads a mindful moment, allowing us to notice and listen to the small whisper inside of us known as our intuition. How do we follow our own intuition when parenting and how do we afford our children the gift of tuning in and trusting what they find within themselves?
Mindful Moments Blog
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?
Mindful Moments Blog
What Two Young Boys Taught Their Grandma About Anger
by Alex Petrou
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.
Mindful Moments Blog
4 Guiding Principles for Parents Teaching From Home
by Alex Petrou
Four tips to help parents create meaningful and effective in-home learning opportunities during the pandemic.
Mindful Moments Blog
The Power of Positive Affirmations for Kids
by Ashley Patek
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.
Mindful Moments Blog
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.
Mindful Moments Blog
A Parent's Guide to Social Emotional Awareness
by Suzanne Tucker
Have you ever had an argument with your child over picking up their toys? You may have asked them once or twice, or even ten times to just pick them up. You start to feel very frustrated and tiresome and you begin to notice that as you grow more angry, so does your child.
Mindful Moments Blog
Children Don't Have Standardized Minds. Let's Quit Testing Them As If They Do.
by Ashley Patek
Our kids who are daydreaming or squirming in their seats or not listening or who show poor impulse control are being told that they are not behaving in ways that conform to the classroom. But perhaps their brain is not built for the standardized classroom. What if school looked like this instead?
Mindful Moments Blog
What If My Partner Talked To Me That Way?
by Ashley Patek
In the early years, we are the definitions of love for our children. Our behavior and words outline what is acceptable and what isn’t. Our response informs them of how to treat others and sets the pace for their own self-worth. Ask yourself, "What if my partner talked to me/treated me in the way I do my children?" What would come up for you?
Mindful Moments Blog
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.
Mindful Moments Blog
Social-Emotional Support For Military Families and Their Children
by Guest Author
Generation Mindful® is excited to be in partnership with US Military Family Support Services in bringing our play-based social-emotional skill-building tools, toys, and parent education programs to military families with children ages 2 to 10.
Here is a brief overview of the program by Generation Mindful's founder, Suzanne Tucker:
In this next video, learn more about the science behind the Time-In ToolKit® Bundle you will receive, including:
The Time-In ToolKit®
SnuggleBuddies Emotions Plush
Hearts Treasure Hunt Children's Book
Positive Parenting Online Course
In the following video, Generation Mindful's founder explains the brain science behind the company's strength's-based approach and why these positive, play-based educational tools and parent education programs outperform punitive methods when it comes to teaching children vital social-emotional skills:
The following video on SnuggleBuddies Emotions Plush opens with Amanda, a military mom of two, sharing her family's experience using the plush to manage some big feelings and challenging behaviors her children were showing when her husband deployed:
And to show the appropriateness of these tools for tots to tweens, here is Meghan, age 10, sharing how she created a calming space her the Time-In ToolKit® Bundle.
Listen in as she explains how she uses the tools, including the PeaceMakers Mindfulness Card Deck and her calming corner posters to regulate her emotions:
We hope you will join us in this new program, bringing support to military families via play-based early emotional learning tools, parent education, and support.
_____________________
This sponsored program is being offered for FREE to a limited number of military families at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on a first-come, first-served basis.
Join us, and start creating more connection, cooperation, joy, and resilience in your home.
For more information, check out this flyer and/or email Julie Hohe at support@genmindful.com for details.
Mindful Moments Blog
by Alex Petrou
My forgiveness heals. As we enter the holiday season, being with our extended family, triggers abound! Let's talk about this life-changing mantra, break it down and apply it to our lives playfully and practically.
Mindful Moments Blog
by Suzanne Tucker
While there isn't one universal manual to parenting, we are our best guides to raising our children. Join Selina as she leads a mindful moment to stand in our truth and celebrate the decisions we have made in parenting. Honoring our choices doesn't mean we always get it right, but rather value the process of learning and growing with our children as we teach and guide.
Mindful Moments Blog
Culturally Responsive Social-Emotional Learning
by Suzanne Tucker
In her work as a school counselor with young children and tweens/teens, Dusha Cecil wishes her district had used Generation Mindful social and emotional learning (SEL) materials years ago, to develop the language and “permission to feel” for a diverse population of students starting in preschool when they were ages three
and four.
In this video, Ms. Cecil shares her experience of using GEN:M tools for early emotional education in the classroom setting:
Among other experiences, Ms. Cecil shares her experience of working with young students, and the many black male teens she supports in therapy that struggle to be sensitive or express their feelings.
Using Generation Mindful tools to "have these conversations and create safe spaces for children makes them feel safe at school, makes them want to learn from their teachers, makes them want to do better, and encourages them to start envisioning their future."
She has tremendous hope for GEN:M tools to lessen the school-to-prison pipeline by giving children of color, particularly boys, a voice and the permission and space they need to express their feelings starting in preschool.
Colby Heckendorn, the former principal of Patrick Henry Downtown Academy in the City of St. Louis, and the Executive Director & Co-Founder of Atlas Public Schools oversaw the implementation of GEN:M products and curriculum with his diverse staff of
early childhood and elementary educators and students at Patrick Henry Downtown Academy.
In his letter of support for Generation Mindful, Heckendorn shared how his diverse team of 11 K to 5th-grade educators felt the tools seamlessly embedded SEL into their everyday classroom activities.
"Generation Mindful provides amazing programs and tools that can help educators seamlessly embed SEL into their everyday practices. I have seen first hand how easy it was for our teachers to utilize these resources and have been astonished by our
results."
- Colby Heckendorn, Executive Director & Co-Founder Atlas Public Schools
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and amplifying voices of color are priorities for Generation Mindful.
There is a connection between punishment-based discipline, lost class time, and the many inequitable early childhood education suspensions happening on a daily basis that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline.
GEN:M tools educate rather than punish children who are still learning to regulate, strengthening social-emotional skills for a lifetime of health and well-being. They are inclusive, easy to use, and foster a supportive classroom climate for caring teachers to establish trusting relationships where students can feel emotionally safe, motivated, challenged, and have a sense of belonging.
The tools complement the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Model developed by Dr. Ross Greene - driven by the belief that “kids
do well if they can.” When maladaptive behaviors occur, educators use time-ins to identify and build lagging skills rather than punitive methods such as time-outs, or being sent out of the classroom.
To learn more about using GEN:M tools to support social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom with the opportunity to bridge the learning into the home, visit here.
Classroom Time-In ToolKit® Bundle
0 Reviews
$149.00
$238.00
Save
$89.00
GENM's social-emotional learning (SEL) tools take a positive, relationship-based approach to nurturing emotional intelligence in the classroom. Our ...
View Product
trauma-informed
restorative discipline
inclusion
emotional intelligence
classroom management
Mindful Moments Blog
Why Time-Outs Increase Power Struggles
by Ashley Patek
When your child misbehaves, how do you respond? Here is why Time-Outs increase power struggles and what you can do instead.
Mindful Moments Blog
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.
Mindful Moments Blog
3 Powerful Ways Parents Can Break The Cycle Of Emotional Wounding
by Catherine Liggett
Want to react to your children less with yelling, lecturing, and punitive measures - to parent differently than you were parented? This is how we break the cycle.
Mindful Moments Blog
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.
Mindful Moments Blog
by Suzanne Tucker
Loving the world starts with loving with world within. Join Selina as she leads a mindful moment to spread love to ourselves and others.
