Mindful Moments Blog

Browse by Theme

Loading articles…

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.

No articles found for this theme.

Learning To Love Myself Through Motherhood

by Ashley Patek

"I have never called my enoughness into question more than becoming a mother." This mama shares how she learned to love herself through the messiness of Motherhood.

3 Effective Ways to Separate Your Identity From Your Emotions

by Rebecca Eanes

Whatever you are facing today, I hope you know you are more than your current struggle. You are fierce and brave. You are enough. You are a warrior.

Thriving as a Working Mom

by Rebecca Eanes

How do you thrive as a working mom? The answer may just be in pie (and we aren't talking chocolate silk or lemon meringue here).

New Mum of Two

by Guest Author

Writer Jess Urlichs shares a poem about being a mother to two.

Why Using A Behavior Chart Is Ineffective

by Ashley Patek

Before you decide to add to or continue using behavioral management charts, let's take a closer look at the undesirable side-effects. Read more.

This Twist on a Classic Teaches Children Loving Limits and Boundaries

by Ashley Patek

While some may say that The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a tale of selfless love, others find the story actually sends a much different message --- one of co-dependency.

Santa's 'Naughty List' Has Been Canceled This Holiday Season

by Ashley Patek

The holiday season is meant to be a magical time, but often it is used as leverage to control a child’s behavior. We have a real opportunity to rewrite the narrative. Here's how.

Gentle Parenting: An Ode To Our Ancestors

by Selina Armstrong

For Black parents, gentle parenting is not the opposite of what our elders have done. This is how we thank previous generations for keeping us safe in a world that wouldn't.

Portable Emotional ToolKit for Sensitive Kids

by Guest Author

How do you discipline a highly sensitive child? Using time-ins help children understand and mange their deep emotional world, nurturing connection and emotional intelligence. Here are 8 tips to building a portable ToolKit for your child to help them regulate not only at home but on the go.

Why Improv Is Not Just For The Stage

by Guest Author

We all improvise every day, and children are the ultimate improvisers. Through play and connection, improv games nurture brain development and bolster social-emotional learning. Here's how to do it. Plus get our E-Book: 10 Minutes of Play For 10 Days!

Thank You: A Father’s Day Poem

by Guest Author

This mama writes a poem to her husband as she navigates her baby blues, teary eyes, breastfeeding, and raw limits.

Why Is My Child Behaving This Way?

by Ashley Patek

Power struggles ... meltdowns ... defiance. Here's what's causing your child's behavior and tools for transforming it.

4 Reasons Your Child Can't Regulate Alone

by Ashley Patek

While it is often a hot topic and a buzzword, it turns out there are many misconceptions about self-regulation. Here are four.

The Stories Kids Want To Tell About COVID

by Rebecca Eanes

Our children grew up in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their brains developed in quarantine. Their bodies changed in lockdown. They are emerging from this as different people, and the impact it had on them is yet to be told. Here are 4 things we can do to support our children’s social-emotional health this school year ...

3 Simple Tools To Gain Cooperation From Your Child (With Less Yelling From You!)

by Rebecca Eanes

When it comes to getting your child to listen, tricks and bribes only go so far. Eventually your kids will wise up to them, and because these tactics evoke a fight or flight response, they will rebel. Here are 3 tools to increase cooperation so that your kids want to work with you (instead of against you).

Building A Resilient Brain Through Spirituality

by Ashley Patek

So many of us are here, questioning if we are “too broken” and “not enough” while equal parts terrified that we will “ruin our children” while also desperately trying to do things differently than were done to us. Maybe this one thing is the answer to our mental health crisis.