Mindfulness is the practice of living in the moment and mindful parenting is something every parent should be aware of on a core level. As a parent, you’re not always going to be in control, some days our kids are going to drive you crazy and some days you’re just going to want to have a good cry and sleep. Parenting is a constant roller coaster and we’re here to help you navigate through the madness.
As parents, in order to be an example to our kids, we need to learn to manage our emotions in order to teach our kids to do the same but let’s be honest, sometimes life doesn’t work the way we want it to. Mindful parenting doesn’t automatically make you a perfect parent cause let’s be honest no one can be perfect at parenting it’s the most complex job ever.
Mindful parenting means you bring your conscious attention to what’s happening in the moment instead of being caught up in your own emotions. Not the easiest of tasks but I promise you, once you do that, you’re going to be much happier for it. But how do you even practice it?
How To Practice Mindful Parenting
Think of a situation or incident that happened between you and your child in whatever setting that made you so upset. You were so upset that you reacted based off your emotions so you probably yelled really loudly at your child or gave them a really harsh punishment .
Pause to think, after you had calmed down, how did you feel about the way you handled it? Did you feel ashamed, guilty, or a little sad? This is what usually happens when you don’t parent mindfully. You react first and regret later.
Next time you find yourself pushed to the wall by your kids do this;
- Stand still, take deep slow breaths and while you’re doing it try to drown out the noise/chaos around you.
- Center yourself and get in touch with how you’re feeling. Think about what you’re feeling and why your child’s actions are creating those emotions in you
- Once you’ve achieved a state of calm, sit your child down and have a discussion with them. Ask why they carried out that action and listen carefully to whatever they say. Afterwards explain to them why what they did was wrong and calmly outline what the penalty will be if you still feel the need to discipline
7 Benefits of Mindful Parenting
Mindful parenting has a lot of benefits some of which are outlined below;
- Improves parent-child communication
- Reduces symptoms of hyperactivity
- You become more aware of your thoughts and feelings
- You become more responsive to the needs, thoughts, and feelings of your child
- It lessens aggression and lowers depression
- You become less critical of yourself and your child
- It makes parenting feel like it takes less of an effort to execute
Conclusion
It is important to learn how to help yourself and how to meet your emotional needs as a parent. Being a mindful parent will help you grow/establish a deeper connection with your child. As a parent, learn to take care of yourself so you can take care of your kids. There’s a saying that goes “you can’t pour from an empty cup” so make sure you constantly find ways to replenish yourself and add flavor so you can practice mindful parenting better.
Start today and Breatheyourlifetofullest!
