Mindful Moments Blog

How Mindfulness Helped Me Focus My ADHD

Mindful Moments Blog

How Mindfulness Helped Me Focus My ADHD

by Ashley Patek on Jan 31 2022
I was diagnosed with ADHD at six-years-old. I was given medication that helped my teacher teach me and other students be around me, but it didn't help me learn skills to regulate my emotions. From a child who had a difficult time with emotions, to now working with similar kiddos, here’s what I can tell you. 
5 Simple Daily Mindful Moments For Parents

Mindful Moments Blog

5 Simple Daily Mindful Moments For Parents

by Traci Esposito on May 26 2021
Whether the kid crew is acting mild or wild, chances are, your days would go a little more smoothly if you started and ended them with a few simple mindful moments. Here are 5 daily mindful moments you can add in (not on) to your day to have less yelling and more peace in your home. 
Using A Feelings Chart To Teach Emotions

Mindful Moments Blog

Using A Feelings Chart To Teach Emotions

by Ashley Patek on May 19 2021
If you feel like you are learning about emotional regulation right alongside your child, it’s because, very likely, you are. Here's how to use a feelings chart to teach your kids (and yourself) about emotions and calming strategies to decrease tantrums and nurture emotional intelligence.
How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Outcomes

Mindful Moments Blog

How Childhood Trauma Affects Health Outcomes

by Ashley Patek on May 10 2021
Childhood trauma isn’t something you just get over as you grow up. Pediatrician Nadine Burke Harris explains that the repeated stress of abuse, neglect, and parents struggling with mental health or substance abuse issues has real, tangible effects on the development of the brain.
5 Ways To Use Positive Affirmations With Kids

Mindful Moments Blog

5 Ways To Use Positive Affirmations With Kids

by Ashley Patek on May 03 2021
Positive affirmations help build a child's learning brain to nurture self-awareness, self-esteem, problem-solving, and emotional regulation. Here are 5 ways to use affirmations with kids so they'll stick.
The Myth of Self-Regulation

Mindful Moments Blog

The Myth of Self-Regulation

by Guest Author on Apr 14 2021
Self-regulation is a myth. Regulation is never about the self because we are always drawing on internal representations of what we have previously experienced in relationships. So, before our kids can self-regulate, they must first learn to co-regulate. Here's how.
What's Wrong With My Clingy Toddler?

Mindful Moments Blog

What's Wrong With My Clingy Toddler?

by Ashley Patek on Apr 12 2021
Why is my child clingy, emotional and crying and what can I do about it? Here are 7 tools for parents with clingy toddlers.
Video Of Trader Joe's Employees Singing And Dancing To Stop Toddler Tantrum Goes Viral

Mindful Moments Blog

Video Of Trader Joe's Employees Singing And Dancing To Stop Toddler Tantrum Goes Viral

by Ashley Patek on Apr 05 2021
When this toddler had a meltdown at checkout, these Winter Park, Florida Trader Joe's employees jumped into action with an impromptu dance party. The video goes viral. 
Preschooler Teaches Her Younger Sister About Emotions While Learning To Manage Her Own

Mindful Moments Blog

Preschooler Teaches Her Younger Sister About Emotions While Learning To Manage Her Own

by Ashley Patek on Mar 11 2021
The last thing Kelly wanted was another gimmick for a tired, worn-out parent. She was overwhelmed and out of ideas on how to manage her daughters' meltdowns. But then something amazing happened ... her oldest daughter taught her youngest daughter how to use a feelings chart. 
A Parent's Guide: Meditate With Toddlers And Teens To Improve Emotional Intelligence And Resilience

Mindful Moments Blog

A Parent's Guide: Meditate With Toddlers And Teens To Improve Emotional Intelligence And Resilience

by Ashley Patek on Feb 18 2021
Even though today’s kids exhibit elevated levels of restlessness, stress, and anxiety, only 1.6% of children in the U.S. meditate. Here are the benefits of meditation on the developing brain and how parents can practice meditation with kids at every age. 
Feeding The Senses Helps Regulate Emotions: Part 2

Mindful Moments Blog

Feeding The Senses Helps Regulate Emotions: Part 2

by Ashley Patek on Jan 09 2021
Sensory diets are one way to incorporate alerting or calming sensory activities to regulate the nervous system, and because every child is unique, so too is every sensory diet. Here are 9 things to consider when designing a sensory diet: 
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 on Nov 23 2020
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. 
Generation Mindful's Time-In-ToolKit

Mindful Moments Blog

Peaceful Parenting Tips: How To Do Time-Ins

by Ashley Patek on Jul 13 2020
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.
clingy child

Mindful Moments Blog

My Child Is Clingy. Am I Doing It Wrong?

by Ashley Patek on Jul 02 2020
Your child is clingy, seems to be experiencing separation anxiety and is consistently acting out whenever you leave them, even if just to try to pee alone. Are you doing something wrong as a parent? Not even a little. Here's why.
5 sensory activities better than slime

Mindful Moments Blog

5 Sensory Activities Better Than Slime

by Ashley Patek on May 29 2020
I am no Pinterest mom. Let’s start there. But when I saw a picture of a kiddo playing in a tub of colored noodles, it intrigued me. As an occupational therapist, sensory integration is my jam. Unfortunately, the noodles turned out to be one colossal fail. Here are 5 sensory activities that won’t let you down. 
Move Your Body, Move Your Emotions 

Mindful Moments Blog

Move Your Body, Move Your Emotions 

by Ashley Patek on May 18 2020
Research has shown that dance has social-emotional benefits. When we communicate with our bodies, we are not expected to make sense of things. We just move, and this movement taps into deeper, more primal feelings. 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.
Mom and daughter in Calming Corner

Mindful Moments Blog

Reducing Toddler Tantrums

by Alex Petrou on Mar 17 2020
One family’s journey using time-ins to manage their toddler's big feelings, going from 33 to 3 tantrums a day in just one week.
When Your Child Fears The Coronavirus: 8 Tips for Taming Anxiety

Mindful Moments Blog

When Your Child Fears The Coronavirus: 8 Tips for Taming Anxiety

by Ashley Patek on Mar 05 2020
As a parent, what do you do when your child has fears that feel out of their control - things like viral outbreaks and global warming? Learn 8 tips for taming fears and anxieties through connection.
Juggling Big Emotions

Mindful Moments Blog

Juggling Big Emotions

by Jessica Zodicoff on Aug 20 2019
As a seven-year-old girl, I remember my grandpa coming over for the holidays and juggling whatever fruit he could find in our kitchen. He taught me to juggle using not lemons, but just three tissues. The fruit was too big for my little-girl hands, but like a set of training wheels, I practiced with those tissues until...