Mindful Parenting


October 27, 2018


Quote of the Week

"Mindful parenting is the hardest job on the planet, but it's also one that has the potential for the deepest kinds of satisfaction over the life span, and the greatest feelings of interconnectedness and community and belonging." --Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindful Parenting: Your #1 Responsibility As A Parent

Mindfulness simply means that you bring your conscious attention to your experience, in a non-judgmental, accepting way. When you become more aware of your own feelings, thoughts, and body sensations, you gain more ability to CHOOSE your response to what's happening, instead of getting hijacked by your emotions. That's essential if we want to be the patient, emotionally generous parents that every child needs. After all, you may know great parenting skills or strategies, but you can't use them if you're not calm and centered. What matters most in parenting is who you ARE as you interact with your child.  This week's featured article offers useful insights into learning more about mindful parenting.

Reading Corner

Title: Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting
By: Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn
Stages: Birth onwards

"Parenting calls us to recreate our world every day, to meet it finally in every moment," write Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn in Everyday Blessings. "Such a calling to actuality is nothing less than a rigorous spiritual discipline — a quest to realize our truest, deepest nature as a human being." The authors have harvested 21 years of parenting and come up with ideas and practices designed to nurture, guide, and protect children until they are ready to go their own way. The Kabat-Zinns believe that keeping the heart open and the mind clear is the essence of mindful parenting. They see children as "live-in Zen masters" who enable us to live in the present moment and to embody wakefulness. The home milieu, according to the authors, is a place of growth and inner abundance where mothers and fathers honor the sovereignty of their sons and daughters, practice empathy and acceptance, and cultivate discernment."
--Reviewed by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Be the Change

Choose one mindfulness practice that you will consciously try to put into practice this week with your child and reflect with a partner on how it made the interaction different for you and for your child.  This link provides practical tips for embracing mindful parenting into your week.