Mindful Moments Blog

Helping Your Kids Process Tragic News

Mindful Moments Blog

Helping Your Kids Process Tragic News

by Ashley Patek on May 25 2022
In different ways, we will have conversations with our children about the tragedy that took place and find the resources we need to protect, heal, and grow. We will do our best to prepare them, to arm our babies with love and knowledge and safety. Here are some tips on having these and conversations and resources to support and educate ourselves and our kids. 
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.

by Ashley Patek on May 11 2022
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. 
How To Rediscover Emotions That Were Suppressed In Childhood

Mindful Moments Blog

How To Rediscover Emotions That Were Suppressed In Childhood

by Ashley Patek on May 02 2022
Sometimes all that we need is a safe place to feel, except we don’t know how to feel a full spectrum of emotions because we were taught not to, and even if we did feel, we lack the language to communicate those feelings. Here's how to change the narrative not only for our mental health but our kids' too. 
A Strong Relationship Will Give You More Authority, Not Less

Mindful Moments Blog

A Strong Relationship With Your Child Gives You More Authority, Not Less

by Ashley Patek on Apr 25 2022
As children learn to regulate emotions and learn higher-level skills through the safe space of a supportive caregiver, not only does it strengthen your relationship but it gives you more authority. Your children will want to work with you more than they want to work against you. Here's how. 
Boundaries Give My Child This Gift

Mindful Moments Blog

Boundaries Give My Child This Gift

by Guest Author on Apr 25 2022
Sometimes the desire to avoid setting boundaries is a control strategy based on our own discomfort with conflict. When we blast through the assumption that being a good parent means avoiding conflict, we gift our children the ability to know who they are, what they want, and how to ask for it - something that was not always safe or allowed for our child-selves.
The Way You Perceive Your Child Affects How You Respond To Them

Mindful Moments Blog

The Way You Perceive Your Child Affects How You Respond To Them

by Rebecca Eanes on Apr 18 2022
Is your child's challenging behavior bad behavior or is it a distress call? Your perspective will decide. Perspective is the lens through which you view the world. It determines how you perceive your children. By changing how we see our children, we change how we respond to them. 
Three Steps To Shift From Frustration To Connection

Mindful Moments Blog

Three Steps To Shift From Frustration To Connection

by Guest Author on Apr 18 2022
Undoubtedly, the most frustrating moments in parenting are those that happen to us every day. When we understand what is causing our frustration, we are able to move from connection. Here are 3 tips. 
3 Bunny Brain Breaks To Increase Emotional Regulation And Academic Learning

Mindful Moments Blog

3 Bunny Brain Breaks To Increase Emotional Regulation And Academic Learning

by Ashley Patek on Apr 04 2022
Multi-sensory movements specific to eye-teaming, hand-eye coordination, and whole-body awareness changes the architecture of the brain, bolstering social-emotional and academic learning. Here are 3 Bunny Brain Breaks to do with your kiddos this spring (Free Printable!). 
4 Powerful Ways To Ensure Your Kids Don’t Bear the Weight of Your Emotions

Mindful Moments Blog

4 Powerful Ways To Ensure Your Kids Don’t Bear the Weight of Your Emotions

by Rebecca Eanes on Mar 21 2022
When children feel responsible for taking care of their parents emotionally, it can cause a range of mental and emotional issues. Maybe this was a familiar story in your own childhood. Here are 4 ways we can break the cycle. 
5 False Toddler Myths

Mindful Moments Blog

5 False Toddler Myths

by Rebecca Eanes on Mar 21 2022
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.
Can You Spoil A Baby?

Mindful Moments Blog

You Can't Spoil A Baby With Your Love

by Ashley Patek on Mar 14 2022
Keep holding them. Keep tending to their needs. Keep doing what feels right. It is impossible for you to spoil them with love. 
Your Child's Emotions Need Support, Not Solutions

Mindful Moments Blog

Your Child's Emotions Need Support, Not Solutions

by Ashley Patek on Mar 14 2022
When we attempt to fix our children’s emotions and problems, we move out of connection and into control. The focus shifts from them to us. Instead, we can sit with them in the hard stuff, offering support, not solutions. Here's how. 
Is It Okay For Me To Cry In Front Of My Child?

Mindful Moments Blog

Is It Okay For Me To Cry In Front Of My Child?

by Guest Author on Mar 06 2022
How do we straddle the line of expressing emotion in front of our children while letting them know that they are not responsible for our feelings? The process can be vulnerable and uncomfortable, but this is often how it feels when we commit to breaking cycles of generational wounding.
What To When Your Child Doesn't Want To Go To The Calming Corner

Mindful Moments Blog

5 Things To Do When Your Child Doesn't Want To Go To The Calming Corner

by Ashley Patek on Feb 14 2022
What do you do when your child is so deep into their meltdown that they do not want to go to their calm down space ... or even want you near them? Here is a parent's guide.
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

by Ashley Patek on Feb 14 2022
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. 
This is the One Thing All Children Need

Mindful Moments Blog

This is the One Thing All Children Need

by Rebecca Eanes on Jan 27 2022
Can you guess what it is?
6 Ways To Successfully Co-Parent With Your Ex

Mindful Moments Blog

6 Ways To Successfully Co-Parent With Your Ex

by Ashley Patek on Jan 10 2022
How do we co-parent with our ex when we have differing views and parenting philosophies, and how do we keep our kids from being in the middle?
Three Words Our Kids Need To Hear

Mindful Moments Blog

Three Words Our Kids Need To Hear

by Ashley Patek on Jan 03 2022
Looking to decrease power struggles, meltdowns, and "defiance"? These are the three words that your child needs to hear.
I'm Not An Angry Mom. I'm An Overwhelmed Mom.

Mindful Moments Blog

I Am Not An Angry Mom. I'm An Overwhelmed Mom.

by Ashley Patek on Jan 03 2022
We aren’t angry parents. We are just parents with unmet needs, lagging skills, and lots of overwhelm - both sensorially and emotionally. Here is the one real solution. 
3 Simple New Year’s Intentions for a Stronger Relationship with Your Child

Mindful Moments Blog

3 Simple New Year’s Intentions for a Stronger Relationship with Your Child

by Rebecca Eanes on Dec 27 2021
Practice these three intentions in the new year to rebuild or strengthen your parent-child bond and enjoy the fruits of a healthy relationship.