Mindful Moments Blog

10 Ways To Get Your Kids Talking About Their Feelings

Mindful Moments Blog

10 Ways To Get Your Kids Talking About Their Feelings

by Ashley Patek on May 24 2022
It can be hard to connect when our children are reluctant to share. Here are some tips to help your children want to talk.
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.
Social-Emotional Learning Is Key in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Mindful Moments Blog

Social-Emotional Learning Is Key in the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Rebecca Eanes on Mar 07 2022
Social-emotional instruction has been proven beneficial during normal times; it is now an urgent need. Here are 5 SEL activities for the classroom and 5 for home. Together, we can bridge the school to home gap. 
Discipline Your Child's Behavior, Not Their Emotions

Mindful Moments Blog

Discipline Your Child's Behavior, Not Their Emotions

by Ashley Patek on Mar 07 2022
There is a difference between how our children feel and how they behave. Rather than trying to force our children to not feel certain emotions (especially the ones that are inconvenient for us), we can teach them how to deal with emotions. Here are four ways to do this. 
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. 
Positive Communication with Kids at Every Age

Mindful Moments Blog

Positive Communication with Kids at Every Age

by Rebecca Eanes on Feb 14 2022
These positive communication tips will create a family culture where children and adults alike are spoken to with respect and listened to with love. Children live what they learn at home, and all of their future relationships will benefit from having learned these important and positive skills early in life.
20 Parenting Phrases to Use in a Pinch

Mindful Moments Blog

20 Parenting Phrases to Use in a Pinch

by Rebecca Eanes on Jan 31 2022
These tried and true phrases will help you respond to your child in a way that keeps the peace, shows empathy, holds boundaries and brings calm to the situation. Test out a few and use the ones that feel right when you need to.
De-escalation Strategies For Jingled Out Kids

Mindful Moments Blog

De-escalation Strategies For Jingled Out Kids

by Rebecca Eanes on Dec 20 2021
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. 
7 Meaningful Holiday Gifts For 2021

Mindful Moments Blog

6 Meaningful Holiday Gifts For 2021

by Ashley Patek on Dec 06 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.
Holiday Survival Guide For Parents: Managing Your Child's Meltdowns

Mindful Moments Blog

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

by Ashley Patek on Dec 06 2021
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.
I Am Not Mad. I Am Feeling Mad. And There Is A Difference.

Mindful Moments Blog

I Am Not Mad. I Am Feeling Mad. And There Is A Difference.

by Ashley Patek on Nov 08 2021
Our identity is not the way we feel. The way we feel is a state of being. Here's why that's important (spoiler alert - it affects your child's brain development), and strategies for adults and children to balance their emotions.
Rewriting the Narrative On Terrible Twos and Tyrannical Threes

Mindful Moments Blog

Rewriting the Narrative On Terrible Twos and Tyrannical Threes

by Rebecca Eanes on Oct 25 2021
The majority of the “problem behavior” that we see in children is because we are looking through a distorted lens. Tantrums are a developmentally normal emotional release when the child’s brain feels flooded with big feelings. Punishing a tantrum cannot make a brain develop faster, but there are things parents can do.
Use Time-Ins To Decrease Defiance

Mindful Moments Blog

Use Time-Ins To Decrease Defiance

by Rebecca Eanes on Oct 04 2021
Want to decrease defiance? It isn't through punishment and Time-Outs. The answer is in Time-Ins, and here's why. 
5 Therapeutic Art Activities for Emotional Health

Mindful Moments Blog

5 Therapeutic Art Activities for Emotional Health

by Rebecca Eanes on Aug 24 2021
Art can help your child release and express feelings they may not know how to process and let go of otherwise. Use these 5 art activities to navigate loss, stress and transitions and to nurture emotional intelligence such as managing big emotions. 
Behavior is A Symptom, Not The Problem

Mindful Moments Blog

Behavior is A Symptom, Not The Problem

by Ashley Patek on Aug 16 2021
Behavior is a symptom, not the problem. And when we focus solely on the symptom, the problems causing these behaviors remain unsolved, and they stack up. So, how do we transform challenging behaviors at home and in the classroom?
5 Calming Strategies To Do With Your Kids

Mindful Moments Blog

5 Calming Strategies To Do With Your Kids

by Ashley Patek on Aug 11 2021
We’ve all been there before, face to face with our child, locking horns, emotions escalating (both yours and theirs). What do you do? Here are 5 calming strategies to do with your child to bridge the gap from being at odds to being on the same team.
Connect, Regulate, and Teach Through Play

Mindful Moments Blog

Connect, Regulate, and Teach Through Play

by Rebecca Eanes on Aug 09 2021
Playfulness isn’t only a tool to keep in your parenting toolbox, it’s a mindset. Here are some tips and tools on how to use play to build connection, bolster emotional regulation, and enhance learning. 
Ask Andrew: Finding Ways To Motivate

Mindful Moments Blog

Ask Andrew: Finding Ways To Motivate

by Andrew Patterson on Aug 02 2021
Andrew answers today's question: I am working with a family that struggles to motivate their son to practice the application of new skills. Any advice on how to discuss the importance of things or improve motivation? This kiddo is highly intelligent and strong-willed.