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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Helping Traumatized Children Learn – Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2019

Helping Traumatized Children Learn – Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2019

by Ashley Patek
The Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2019 helps to define trauma-informed practices within schools with goals to decrease school-to-prison pipeline and create a safe learning environment.
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."
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.
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. 
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?
De-escalation Strategies For Jingled Out Kids

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. 
Raising Awake Children in the Age of Black Lives Matter

Raising Awake Children in the Age of Black Lives Matter

by Ashley Patek
Our country is standing at a pivoting point. #BlackLivesMatter is the anthem and our nation is singing in the face of injustice. For all lives to matter, black lives must matter. 
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.
What Not To Say To A Parent Who Just Lost A Child

What Not To Say To A Parent Who Just Lost A Child

by Ashley Patek
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. As a mother who has experienced this type of loss, I share my experience with fellow parents and offer gentle advise to supportive friends and family.