Mindful Moments Blog

Natasha is a mama of two neurodiverse daughters and she has one big focus: teaching her girls social-emotional skills, not only to help them express themselves but to advocate for themselves.

Andrew answers today's question: I ask my daughter something and she replies “I don’t know” even if it is a matter of clear opinion. Like … “Shall we get ice cream? … Why is that?” After I reframe the questions she suddenly knows.

Children are wired to seek approval from their caregivers because it is how they are designed to survive. How we respond as parents to our children’s intuition and their bids to voice their consent greatly impacts their ability to speak their truth, set boundaries, and trust who they are. Read more. 

Children are wired to seek approval from their caregivers because it is how they are designed to survive. How we respond as parents to our children’s intuition and their bids to voice their consent greatly impacts their ability to speak their truth, set boundaries, and trust who they are. Read more. 

To my children, without you ... Our house would be clean and organized yet there would be no handprints on the glass to remind me of your littleness.

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. 

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.

If you notice that your child is having some fear and worry about the first day of Kindergarten, there are five things you can do to help calm their anxieties. The first day of Kindergarten is a huge milestone for little kiddos (and their parents)! It’s an exciting time, but for some families, it comes with anxieties, fears, and mixed emotions. Being dropped off in a new environment filled with new people can be understandably stressful.  Signs Your Child Is Feeling Anxious Watch for these signs that your little one might be feeling anxious about the start of school: There’s an increase in meltdowns and acting out. Anxiety manifests in a lot of different ways because it’s based on a physiological response to a perceived threat. Their behavior can be misread as defiance or anger but is really an anxiety response.  They’re having difficulty falling asleep. As the first day approaches, you might find that your child is having trouble falling asleep. They may be needing you more often or for longer periods at night.  Expressing fear or worry about school. Parents are often quick to minimize a child’s fears when they verbally express them, saying things like “It’ll be fun!,” “You’ll make friends quick!” and “There’s nothing to be nervous about!” It’s important to validate and empathize with your child’s feelings. New onset of stomach aches or headaches. These physical symptoms could mean that your child is struggling with anxiety and may need to see a healthcare professional.  Your own fear and anxiety about your child starting school may affect them as well. Children are very perceptive about their parents’ emotions, and if they see that you’re anxious, they may become anxious too. Be confident and positive without overhyping it.  5 Ways to Calm Your Child's Fears If you notice that your child is having some fear and worry about the first day of Kindergarten, there are a few things you can do to help calm their anxieties.  1. Get acquainted.  Ask about orientation. If your child’s school offers it, take advantage of the opportunity for you and your child to meet teachers and classmates. If no orientation is offered, it’s a good idea to arrange a tour of a school and a meeting with your child’s teacher before the big day. Help the teacher get to know your child better by preparing a one-page cheat sheet about them, including their name and nickname, photo, medical conditions, likes and dislikes, interests and talents, etc. This will also give the teacher a few conversation starters for building a relationship. If you can arrange for your child to get acquainted with the teacher as well, that’s even better! Forming a relationship with the teacher before school starts will make the separation from you a bit easier. Furthermore, do a little networking with other parents and see if you can set up a playdate with another child in their class. Seeing that familiar face in class will be a comfort and help to ease your child’s nerves. 2. Keep it positive.  When you talk to your child about the upcoming school year and her transition to Kindergarten, remain optimistic and positive. Do not overhype the milestone. Making too big a deal of it may create an uptick in your child’s anxious feelings. As mentioned, validate your child’s emotions and empathize while keeping a general sense of optimism and showing confidence in your little one. 3. Find an anchor.  Some children can skip off to the classroom without so much as a backward glance, but many children experience separation anxiety. For those children, it’s helpful to find an anchor – something that helps them feel close to you while they’re away. A little piece of home away from home. It could be something as simple as a matching necklace, a photo of you, or a note in the lunchbox. An anchor is like a security blanket that your child can take with her every day. 4. Play and practice.  During that meeting with your child’s teacher before school starts, get a good sense of what a typical day will look like and what your child will be doing in the first few weeks of school, and then begin practicing those things over the summer with your child. Doing so will help familiarize your child with the routine and structure of school.  SnuggleBuddies® Help Big Emotions & Meltdowns Use role play to show her how to introduce herself to others, how to ask to join a group or game, using words to express feelings and wants, and appropriate solutions to conflict. The more you practice, the more confident your child will feel and the better those skills will develop! This will make the transition easier.  In addition to practicing things like standing in line, sitting still, following directions, etc., it’s a good idea to start practicing social-emotional skills as well. Use the Time-In ToolKit to teach about emotions. The Time-In ToolKit® playfully teaches kids 2-9+ how to navigate big emotions through social-emotional skill-building games.   5. Be their safe place.  It may only take your child a few days to adjust to Kindergarten life, or it could take weeks or even months. Every child is different and their experience will be unique. It is unhelpful to compare them to other children in the classroom who seem to be handling it much better. Rest assured that this is a temporary phase, and with the right support, your child will be able to overcome those fears.  Last year, I sent my firstborn off to his first day of high school. HIGH SCHOOL! And it feels like yesterday was his first day at Kindergarten. So if I may be so predictable, it does go by quickly, and before you can blink twice, that Kindergartener will be wanting a driver’s license. Good luck to you all!

Teens and toddlers alike can demonstrate aggressive or uncooperative behaviors from time to time as influenced by big emotions and neurological overwhelm. De-escalation tools help parents defuse a situation and help their child calm and regulate their system.

We often feel like our children are manipulating us yet research shows that willful manipulation is a function of higher brain regions that are still extremely underdeveloped in toddlers. Unfortunately, parental manipulation is much more common and used to get our children to listen and comply, which uses their need for attachment against them. Here is what to do instead for more cooperation.

A young child is so frustrated and overwhelmed that she just hit her big sister. As the adult responsible for managing this moment, how can you navigate this? Enter co-regulation.

In using a time-in, my boys learned valuable skills they would never have learned by sitting in a corner. Did this produce perfect children? No. But this did produce securely attached children who no longer had to make desperate bids for the attachment they so instinctively desired. Read more. 

Parenthood is the ultimate journey - not only in getting to know our children but in growing (and testing) ourselves, too. I have learned so much in my years of mommin’, and here are just a few. Maybe you can relate, too …

Grab your tissues. This heartfelt video captures the love and prayers one father carries for his unborn child: "The pain and the pleasure, they are buried treasure. Get your hands dirty..." - Kurt Peloquin

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.

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.

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. 

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

As our children grow up and the pure wonder and excitement of the holidays wane, adolescents often experience an uptick in stress and anxiety during the holiday season. What can parents do?