Mindful Moments Blog

Our Kids Are Listening Even When They Don't Seem Like It

Mindful Moments Blog

Our Kids Are Listening Even When They Don't Seem Like It

by Ashley Patek
I was starting to lose hope that my three-year-old was actually absorbing anything when I talked to him about emotions or attempted to elicit empathy after he hit or kicked another in a fit of rage. But then this happened, and I realized he had been listening after all. 
Woman writing a letter

Mindful Moments Blog

An Open Letter To My Child's Teacher

by Ashley Patek
For months, every morning, I sent my child off to school to be in your care. I entrusted you with my heart as he walked into your classroom. I handed him off to you, woman to woman, knowing that for the next several hours, it would be you that he looked up to, watched, and absorbed. Now, here we are, in this unusual time of staying home. He no longer takes a seat in your classroom, yet he is still in your class. 
Dad and kids playing with ToolKit tools

Mindful Moments Blog

Parenting Toddlers, Tweens, and Teens Using Time-Ins

by Ashley Patek
Crystal is a mama with a household of toddlers, tweens, and teens where uncontrollable sobbing and outbursts were a daily occurrence, and not just from her three-year-old.
Generation Mindful's Time-In-ToolKit

Mindful Moments Blog

Peaceful Parenting Tips: How To Do Time-Ins

by Ashley Patek
This video is for anyone who has ever struggled with parenting (all of us), for those who are working to respond to their children instead of reacting to their behaviors, and anyone who wants to raise emotionally healthy humans but isn't sure where to start.
Virtual Calming Corner
child behavioral charts

Mindful Moments Blog

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

Mindful Moments Blog

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.
Stress And How Emotional Intelligence Can Keep It In Check

Mindful Moments Blog

Child Stress And How Emotional Intelligence Can Keep It In Check

by Alex Petrou
Stress is our body’s natural reaction to a challenging or adverse situation, whether real or imagined, which triggers the body’s fight-flight-or-freeze response. By learning to express emotions, listen actively, and consider multiple perspectives, children and adults alike can learn to control stress more effectively.
kids arm and arm

Mindful Moments Blog

Children Need Less Academics and More Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom

by Ashley Patek
Starting school or starting a new school year can be stressful at the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic.
Social Distancing Impact on Children

Mindful Moments Blog

Social Distancing Impact on Children

by Ashley Patek
We share parents' top concerns and frustrations about their children’s behaviors during this time of staying home, and tools for navigating regression and other stress responses.
The Day My Son Told Me Mad Is Bad

Mindful Moments Blog

The Day My Son Told Me "Mad is Bad"

by Ashley Patek
When our children believe that unpleasant emotions are "bad", they become unsafe to feel those emotions. However all emotions are sacred and useful. Here's why. Read more.
How To Make A DIY Calming Corner

Mindful Moments Blog

How To Make A DIY Calming Corner

by Alex Petrou
After a failed DIY Pinterest-inspired Calming Corner, this mama turned to Generation Mindful's Time-In-Toolkit to save her time, money, and sanity while creating a space for her tantruming three-year-old to explore her feelings.
Social-Emotional Learning Starts At Home

Mindful Moments Blog

Social-Emotional Learning Starts At Home

by Ashley Patek
Students who are self-aware and able to understand their emotions have a greater ability to relate to others, make decisions, and excel academically. Here is how to help your child develop social-emotional skills at home. 
The ABCs and 123s of Emotional Intelligence

Mindful Moments Blog

The ABCs and 123s of Emotional Intelligence

by Suzanne Tucker
Today I'm sharing two social-emotional skill-building activities I wish EVERY child and every adult in the world knew.  These two skills make up the ABCs and 123s of emotional intelligence. They are free, simple, easy, and dare I say, even fun to practice.  In the following 18-minute video, I walk you through these skill-building activities for building emotional intelligence in your home or early childhood classroom. This video is for parents and educators, and it can be shared with tweens and teens as well! Tune in and learn: What are the three skill sets that lead to higher emotional intelligence in children and adults? What are two ways children can practice these skills on a daily basis? How do these practices help us manage things like depression and anxiety with toddlers, teens, and right on into adulthood? Thank you for learning more about Generation Mindful's mission to raise an emotionally healthy world. If you believe every child deserves to learn about their emotions, join our 1M+ online community of parents and educators from around the world who are making it safe for kids to feel.  And check out these additional articles: 5 Ways To Nurture Emotional Intelligence For Kids 10 Simple Mindfulness Activities For Kids To Build Emotional Intelligence Emotional Intelligence is More Than Naming Emotions Teach Children How to Regulate Emotions Using A Calming Space Classroom Time-In ToolKit® Bundle GENM's social-emotional learning (SEL) tools take a positive, relationship-based approach to nurturing emotional intelligence in the classroom. Our ... View Product Positive Parenting Mood Meter model to learn time-in-toolkit emotional regulation emotions social emotional skills Time-In ToolKit emotional intelligence
Birth of a mother

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. 
Montessori Parent playing with her daughter.

Mindful Moments Blog

Montessori Parenting Techniques for Teaching Emotional Intelligence

by Guest Author
What is so special about the montessori parenting style? Learn how Montessori parenting can instill emotional intelligence in your children.
Play Is More Than Just Fun at Philadelphia's Children's Museum

Mindful Moments Blog

Play Is More Than Just Fun at Philadelphia's Children's Museum

by Ashley Patek
In collaboration with Generation Mindful, Philadelphia's Please Touch Children's Museum takes a bold step forward in creating a world where all children are able to exercise creativity, compassion, confidence, and social-emotional skills as it opens its new exhibit XOXO: The Exhibit About Love And Forgiveness.
On Peace Tents, Healing the Generations and Motherhood