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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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.
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?
Raising Emotionally-Intelligent Boys: One Mom's Journey

Raising Emotionally-Intelligent Boys: One Mom's Journey

by Ashley Patek
What do you do when the world around you tells you that you are too sensitive?  Do you adapt to the social norms and shift who you are, or do you hush the noise of society to listen to your inner wisdom?
Words Matter - Crossing out dismissive phrases in kid's story books

Words Matter: Adjusting Popular Books and Songs to Align with Positive Parenting Strategies

by Ashley Patek
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.
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. 
An open letter to you, my toddler: "I get It."

An open letter to you, my toddler: "I get It."

by Guest Author
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...
Boundaries Give My Child This Gift

Boundaries Give My Child This Gift

by Guest Author
Sometimes the desire to avoid setting boundaries is a control strategy based on our own discomfort with conflict. When we blast through the assumption that being a good parent means avoiding conflict, we gift our children the ability to know who they are, what they want, and how to ask for it - something that was not always safe or allowed for our child-selves.
As A Parent, I Miss Feeling Seen - How To Cope With The Loneliness Of Parenthood

As A Parent, I Miss Feeling Seen - How To Cope With The Loneliness Of Parenthood

by Rebecca Eanes
Without a village, parenthood can feel pretty isolating and lonely. Not being seen and connected often feels like a threat to our emotional and psychological well-being. Emotions Researcher Brené Brown inspires an unusual way out of loneliness and into self-acceptance. 
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. 
Bringing The Shadows To Light: Reparenting Yourself In Motherhood

Bringing The Shadows To Light: Reparenting Yourself In Motherhood

by Ashley Patek
One mama went into the shadows of her youth to heal the wounds of emotional neglect. And in doing so, she reparented herself, and transformed the connection with her daughter.
The Most Precious Gift We Have Is The Accumulation Of Seconds With Our

The Most Precious Gift We Have Is The Accumulation Of Seconds With Our Children

by Ashley Patek
“Mommy, will you lay with me?” The back of my son’s jammie shirt lay slightly spotted as it caught my silent tears. The most precious gift we have is the accumulation of seconds with our children. And this is what they need us to know. 
I'm Too Stressed To Handle My Child's Meltdowns

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?