Mindful Moments Blog

Mom uses Generation Mindful Tools with sons

Mindful Moments Blog

Mama Of Two Neurodiverse Sons Uses ToolKit To Nurture Their Unique Minds

by Guest Author on Dec 05 2020
We love reading stories about how our tools are living for families in their homes. Here’s a story that came in from mama Kelley Rufkahr with her children Wyatt, age six, and Emmett, age four. 
Celebrating Being An Imperfect Mom

Mindful Moments Blog

How I Celebrate Being An Imperfect Mom

by Ashley Patek on Dec 03 2020
I closed the car door with my foot as I tiptoed my son’s birthday cupcakes inside.
Holiday gift giving

Mindful Moments Blog

7 Meaningful Gifts for 2020

by Guest Author on Nov 28 2020
Rather than gifting toys this holiday that will likely find their way to the bottom of the toy bin, give the children on your list meaningful memories instead. Here are seven connection-based gift ideas for ages one and up that we love for the holidays and all year long.
Child crying

Mindful Moments Blog

Why Behavior Charts Don't Work For Most Kids

by Ashley Patek on Nov 09 2020
Behavior charts have been widely used over the past thirty years and while they may achieve the short-term goal of obedience, they miss the long-term goal of building the brain for life-long skills.
They Saw A Bratty Kid, But That Wasn't The Whole Story

Mindful Moments Blog

They Saw A Bratty Kid, But That Wasn't The Whole Story

by Ashley Patek on Nov 07 2020
What they saw was a bratty child. A clingy child. A spoiled child. And underneath it all, they saw a mother who wasn’t doing it right. But that wasn't the whole story. Our behaviors were communication for so much more.
Birth of a mother

Mindful Moments Blog

Celebrating The Birth Of A Mother

by Guest Author on Oct 16 2020
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. 
St. Louis Mom’s Alternative To Timeouts Turns Into Multi-Million Dollar Business

Mindful Moments Blog

St. Louis Mom’s Alternative To Timeouts Turns Into Multi-Million Dollar Business

by Ashley Patek on Sep 14 2020
Parenting during a pandemic has its challenges, but there’s something that can help those with younger children thanks to a St. Louis mom.
The Ultimate Guide To Building A Calming Corner And Using Time-Ins At Home

Mindful Moments Blog

The Ultimate Guide To Building A Calming Corner And Using Time-Ins At Home

by Ashley Patek on Sep 10 2020
How do you say goodbye to time-outs and introduce time-ins? This is the ultimate guide on the do's and don'ts for building and using a Calming Corner.
Two boys using calming corner

Mindful Moments Blog

Social worker and mom uses yoga and positive affirmations to heal herself and her family

by Ashley Patek on Aug 10 2020
One mom shares how she uses her training in social work and yoga to heal herself, her family, and her community.
Dad and kids playing with ToolKit tools

Mindful Moments Blog

Parenting Toddlers, Tweens, and Teens Using Time-Ins

by Ashley Patek on Aug 08 2020
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.
Framing And Hanging Your Time-In-ToolKit

Mindful Moments Blog

Framing And Hanging Your Time-In-ToolKit

by Ashley Patek on Jul 25 2020
Which frames will work best? Where were the best deals on frames? And how do I hang them? Here is your guide to framing and hanging your Time-In ToolKit.
Mom goes viral on TikTok using Generation Mindful's Time-In ToolKit

Mindful Moments Blog

TikTok Goes Viral As Mom Shows Alternative to Time-Outs Using The Time-In ToolKit

by Ashley Patek on Jul 18 2020
A mom recently shared a clip on TikTok of her son using Generation Mindful's Time-In ToolKit, and the post went viral. Take a look. 
Father and son on the couch

Mindful Moments Blog

Fathers Raising Boys That Feel Safe To Feel

by Ashley Patek on Jun 16 2020
My husband grew up in a home where the men mostly ran away or shut down when it came to emotions, and when he became a father himself, he was determined to break the cycle. This is how he did it. 
Six Ways To Intentionally Raise Kind Children

Mindful Moments Blog

Six Ways To Intentionally Raise Kind Children

by Ashley Patek on Jun 09 2020
Research shows that when we shame, blame, and guilt children into kindness, or, quite the opposite, when we dangle carrots (aka external rewards) for caring, children begin to view kindness as a chore rather than a choice. So how do we teach kindness? Read more.
Little girl in her Calming Corner

Mindful Moments Blog

Positive Affirmations are Helping Kids

by Ashley Patek on Mar 26 2020
These printable mantra bracelets are a great way for parents to share comforting and empowering mantras with children as young as age two on up. Because when we feel worthy and loved, we respond as if we are worthy and loved. And when we feel powerless and not enough, we respond as if we are powerless and not enough.
Teacher using PeaceMakers cards during circle time

Mindful Moments Blog

Teaching Academics and Social-Emotional Skills in the Montessori Classroom

by Ashley Patek on Feb 03 2020
Emily Canibano, a Montessori teacher with a classroom of 16 students ranging in age from 1.2 to 5.5 years, was looking for a way to teach social-emotional skills in her classroom, both in feeling emotions and in the safe expression of them.
Self portraits from Bloom360

Mindful Moments Blog

Teaching The Whole Learner: School Spotlight on Bloom360

by Ashley Patek on Jan 27 2020
Bloom360 Learning Community, a nonprofit school in southeastern Wisconsin for Learners ages 5 to 21 with neurodiverse needs, based their entire 2019/20 school year curriculum themes around the PeaceMakers themes of Power, Joy, Balance, Love, Peace, Intuition, and Forgiveness, and the outcomes are inspiring.
Pregnant mama showing her bump in nature

Mindful Moments Blog

From Classroom to Home: One Teacher's Journey to Positive Parenting

by Ashley Patek on Jan 23 2020
After maternity leave, I decide to shift from my role as a teacher of an academic classroom to that of teaching our “one and only.” My full momma heart told me that I would nail it. I mean, how hard could it be to teach one child when I had taught so many?
The Gift Of Life And One Mama's Fight For Her Son

Mindful Moments Blog

The Gift Of Life And One Mama's Fight For Her Son

by Ashley Patek on Dec 09 2019
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.
Child reading a book in classroom's Calming Corner

Mindful Moments Blog

Preschool Teacher Creates Calming Corner to Teach Students About Emotions

by Ashley Patek on Nov 26 2019
In a nook in the back near the teacher’s desk, a cozy, safe place exists. It is a place to explore feelings. A place to regulate. A place to take a break and just be. Welcome to Emily Brown’s preschool classroom. Emily is a teacher dedicated to helping her students learn about, notice and practice their emotions.