Mindful Moments Blog

We Think Our Kids Are Manipulating Us But Are We Manipulating Them?

We Often Think Our Kids Are Manipulating Us But Are We Manipulating Them?

by Rebecca Eanes

We often feel like our children are manipulating us yet research shows that willful manipulation is a function of higher brain regions that are still extremely underdeveloped in toddlers. Unfortunately, parental manipulation is much more common and used to get our children to listen and comply, which uses their need for attachment against them. Here is what to do instead for more cooperation.

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.

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 …

Mindful Moments Blog

Dear Daughter: A Spoken Word Poem

by Alex Petrou

Grab your tissues. This heartfelt video captures the love and prayers one father carries for his unborn child: "The pain and the pleasure, they are buried treasure. Get your hands dirty..." - Kurt Peloquin

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.

Mindful Moments Blog

7 Easy Ways To Have Hard Conversations With Your Child

by Ashley Patek

In having hard conversations with our kids - whether it be their untamed anger as a toddler, their heartbreak as a teen, or their transition from one gender to another - we strengthen our parent-child bond and equip them with resources for how to handle future situations. Here's how to do it.

Mindful Moments Blog

I Messed Up. Have I Messed Up My Kids?

by Ashley Patek

You know you are a parent if you have ever questioned your qualifications for the job. You may be asking yourself, How do I know I am not messing up my children every time I pitfall into conditioned habits? Whatever your wounding patterns are, these tips can help you embrace your enoughness as a cycle breaker.

Mindful Moments Blog

5 Steps to Set Intentions (Not Resolutions) That Stick, Plus Free Printables

by Guest Author

If you are in the habit of setting goal based resolutions for the new year that feel more like a “have to” than a “get to”, here are some things to consider: A goal is focused on the future with a specific outcome or external "achievement" in mind whereas intentions are set in the present.

Mindful Moments Blog

Talking To Our Kids About Death

by Ashley Patek

Death is part of life, yet it can be an uncomfortable topic to discuss, especially with our children. Here are 5 tips for parents when talking to their child about death to support their emotional experience and understanding.

Mindful Moments Blog

Celebrating The Birth Of A Mother

by Guest Author

Motherhood seemed to come so easy to everyone around me, yet here I was, barely keeping it together. One mom shares how she was re-born after having children.

Mindful Moments Blog

How to Become a Cycle-Breaking Parent in 4 Steps

by Catherine Liggett

Unlike many of our parents who repressed, denied, ignored, or shamed their own feelings, resulting in abusive explosions and emotional neglect, becoming a cycle breaker means that we commit to FACE-ing our emotions with clarity and deep compassion. Here's how to use FACE (Feel, Amplify, Connect, and Embrace), a 4-step process, to break cycles.

Mindful Moments Blog

On Peace Tents, Healing the Generations and Motherhood

by Alex Petrou

Every child wants to know, do you see my light even when I’m not shining it?

Mindful Moments Blog

Allowance And Chores: For Learning Or Earning?

by Ashley Patek

Is allowance a form of bribery and reward to get kids to do their chores, or is it a way to teach our children about money management? We take a look from a positive parenting lens.

Mindful Moments Blog

When Play Feels Like A Chore

by Ashley Patek

The language of a child is play, but play isn't always easy for adults. Learn why and how parents can overcome these play roadblocks.

Mindful Moments Blog

5 False Toddler Myths

by Rebecca Eanes

Toddlerhood is a precious time. We do our kids and ourselves a great injustice by assigning negative intent to their developmentally normal behaviors. Instead of going to war, let’s spend these quickly-passing years seeking to understand our little ones and rewrite the narrative on common myths.

Mindful Moments Blog

10 Simple Mindfulness Activities For Kids To Build Emotional Intelligence

by Ashley Patek

Practicing mindfulness with children nurtures social-emotional skills and builds higher-level functions such as impulse control - the pause between reacting to and responding in the face of big emotions. Here are 10 simple activities you can add in to your day.

Mindful Moments Blog

Your Child’s Happiness Isn’t Your Job

by Rebecca Eanes

We cannot make our children happy, but we can teach them how to make themselves happy, because ultimately, happiness is an inside job. Here are five tools to help children find their own happiness.

Mindful Moments Blog

4 Effective Ways To Break The Generational Cycle Of Yelling

by Ashley Patek

I yell. I was yelled at. My guess is, my parents were yelled at too. Poor emotional regulation - and its wounding - has been handed down from one generation to another. Here are 4 effective ways to break the cycle so that our children don't have to carry that shame. It stops with us.

Mindful Moments Blog

To The Boy That Called My Daughter Ugly

by Brandon Janous

From a dad in our community: "To the boy that called my daughter ugly on the school bus the other day, I have some things to say to you."

All articles Affirmations Anxieties and Fears Art Therapy Ask Andrew Attachment Attachment parenting Autism back to school Baldoni Behavior Chart Behavior Management black lives matter Bloom360 boundaries Brain Development Break Shame Cycles Breaking Generational Cycles Calming Corner calming strategies child depression child therapy toy children Children's books chores christine ford classroom management Clingy Toddler co-parenting co-regulation Communication Connection Connection-based parenting Consent Cooperation Coronavirus Dance De-escalation depression Determination emotional intelligence emotional regulation emotions Empathy Expectations Fatherhood Feelings Charts fergusson Flexibility Foster Parent Fred Rogers Friendship gender equality generation mindful Girlfriends Gratitude Growth mindset Heart's Treasure Hunt Highly Sensitive Child Holiday Improv Games Impulse Control in the news inclusion inner child intuition kindness Kurt Peloquin Living in the little moments loss and grief Make It Stick Program Making Friends mantras Masculinity Meaningful Gifts Meditation meltdowns member highlight mental health mindful parenting mindfulness MLK day model to learn Montessori Mood Meter Mother's Day motherhood Motherly MoveMindfully My Feelings Activity Mat Negative reinforcement Neurodiverse Neurodiversity new year Nurses Day Open Letter parenting on the same page pause Peaceful Homes & Classrooms peacemakers PeaceMakers Mantra Cards Play Play to Learn positive positive discipline positive parenting Positive reinforcement positive self talk Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month prevent bullying preventing sexual assault PTSD Raising strong-willed children Raising Teens Raising Toddlers regulation reparenting Resilience Resilience-Informed restorative discipline Returning to school Scripted Stories self care self esteem self love self-acceptance self-compassion self-love Sensory sensory activities sensory diet Sesame Street Setting Intentions shyness Sibling Rivalry sleep deprivation SnuggleBuddies social emotional skills spirituality Staying Home stress Summer Activities tantrums teach teach kids about emotions time-in toolkit time-in-toolkit Time-Ins Time-Outs Trader Joes transitions trauma trauma-informed trigger worksheet Triggers unconditional love unity Viral Video yoga kids yoga therapy

Mindful Moments Blog

Join Our Free Community

Can’t find what you’re looking for?