Mindful Moments Blog

A child sitting in a time-out chair happy with her mother

Mindful Moments Blog

Implementing The Time-In Technique With The Time-Out Chair

Use the modernized approach of the time-out chair strategy to promote empathy, communication, and effective discipline in parenting.
Montessori classroom with kids playing and smiling

Mindful Moments Blog

Enhancing Social-Emotional Learning in Traditional and Montessori Classrooms

Discover effective social-emotional techniques for Montessori classrooms and traditional settings. Nurture emotional growth in diverse educational environments.
The ABCs and 123s of Emotional Intelligence

Mindful Moments Blog

The ABCs and 123s of Emotional Intelligence

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 0 Reviews $149.00 $238.00 Save $89.00 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
Social-Emotional Support For Military Families and Their Children

Mindful Moments Blog

Social-Emotional Support For Military Families and Their Children

Generation Mindful® is excited to be in partnership with US Military Family Support Services in bringing our play-based social-emotional skill-building tools, toys, and parent education programs to military families with children ages 2 to 10. Here is a brief overview of the program by Generation Mindful's founder, Suzanne Tucker: In this next video, learn more about the science behind the Time-In ToolKit® Bundle you will receive, including: The Time-In ToolKit® SnuggleBuddies Emotions Plush Hearts Treasure Hunt Children's Book Positive Parenting Online Course In the following video, Generation Mindful's founder explains the brain science behind the company's strength's-based approach and why these positive, play-based educational tools and parent education programs outperform punitive methods when it comes to teaching children vital social-emotional skills: The following video on SnuggleBuddies Emotions Plush opens with Amanda, a military mom of two, sharing her family's experience using the plush to manage some big feelings and challenging behaviors her children were showing when her husband deployed: And to show the appropriateness of these tools for tots to tweens, here is Meghan, age 10, sharing how she created a calming space her the Time-In ToolKit® Bundle.  Listen in as she explains how she uses the tools, including the PeaceMakers Mindfulness Card Deck and her calming corner posters to regulate her emotions: We hope you will join us in this new program, bringing support to military families via play-based early emotional learning tools, parent education, and support. _____________________ This sponsored program is being offered for FREE to a limited number of military families at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on a first-come, first-served basis. Join us, and start creating more connection, cooperation, joy, and resilience in your home. For more information, check out this flyer and/or email Julie Hohe at support@genmindful.com for details.
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

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.
Virtual Calming Corner

Mindful Moments Blog

Virtual Calming Corner Teaches Kids About Emotions Playfully

How do we teach social-emotional learning (SEL) to our children?
Time-Outs Affect The Developing Brain

Mindful Moments Blog

Time-Outs Affect The Developing Brain

Separation-based techniques, like the popular time-out approach, use what children care most about against them.
My Child Morphed! What To Do When Big Emotions And Behaviors Take Over.

Mindful Moments Blog

My Child Morphed! What To Do When Big Emotions And Behaviors Take Over.

Is it just me or does something happen to our children when they turn three, four and five? Like all of the sudden emotions are more potent and behaviors are more exasperating. Here's why, plus 4 tips to help your child's nervous system regulate amidst all of these changes. 
No bad kid

Mindful Moments Blog

There Is No Such Thing As A Bad Child

As a mother and trauma therapist, I can sniff out social trauma from a mile away.
Toddlers And Meltdowns And Brain Development, Oh My!

Mindful Moments Blog

Meltdowns Develop Your Child's Brain When Met With Connection; Punishment Doesn't Work

Toddlers are one of the most authentic creatures on the planet, and also, arguably, the most misunderstood. On the surface, we see meltdowns, defiance, and limit testing. But there’s so much more than what meets the eye.
5 False Toddler Myths

Mindful Moments Blog

5 False Toddler Myths

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.
Social-Emotional Learning Starts At Home

Mindful Moments Blog

Social-Emotional Learning Starts At Home

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. 
I’ve Never Grounded My Teenager - Here’s Why

Mindful Moments Blog

I’ve Never Grounded My Teenager - Here’s Why

In our culture, we are accustomed to training children through pain. We are fooled into thinking it’s good because it works, but it only works for a short time, and the reason it works is heartbreaking. Here's what to do instead of punishment.
Feeling Emotions As An Adult When Taught Not To As A Child

Mindful Moments Blog

Feeling Emotions As An Adult When Taught Not To As A Child

When we learn to suppress unpleasant emotions as a child, we become adults whose conditioned self masquerades as our authentic self. This dampens our human experience (and affects our mental health and parenting). Here's how to break the cycle. 
Helping Your Highly Sensitive Child Gain Confidence

Mindful Moments Blog

Helping Your Highly Sensitive Child Gain Confidence

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. 
The Harm Of Forcing Manners On Our Children (And What To Do Instead)

Mindful Moments Blog

The Harm Of Forcing Manners On Our Children (And What To Do Instead)

If we want to step away from punitive measures and towards a deep understanding of manners, and an internal motivation to practice them, it stops with “say the magic word” or “say you are sorry” or “what do you say???” And it starts with these 5 tools. 
De-escalation Strategies For Jingled Out Kids

Mindful Moments Blog

De-escalation Strategies For Jingled Out Kids

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

Mindful Moments Blog

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

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.
Holiday Survival Guide For Parents: Managing Your Child's Meltdowns

Mindful Moments Blog

Holiday Survival Guide For Parents: Managing Your Child's Meltdowns

Here are some reasons why toddlers meltdown more during the holiday season followed by some easy tips to help regulate their environment and their moods.
7 Meaningful Holiday Gifts For 2021

Mindful Moments Blog

6 Meaningful Holiday Gifts For 2021

Rather than storing unnoticed toys in the closet this year, give the children on your list meaningful memories instead. Here are six connection-based gift ideas for ages two and up that we love for the holidays and all year long.