What is mindful parenting?
Mindful parenting is just about applying the skills of mindfulness to our interactions with our children. It’s about noticing when we’ve been triggered by parenting and we’re suddenly stuck in the past, perhaps in our own childhoods, or when we’ve gotten all worked up or angry or anxious about something that’s happened (real or imagined!) and then deciding to let those thoughts go so we can refocus our attention on the present moment, on what’s actually happening with our children, right here and right now. It’s about approaching the work of parenting with kindness and curiosity and finding ways to treat ourselves and our children with forgiveness and compassion. And perhaps, most importantly, mindful parenting is about realizing that every moment is another opportunity to start again, another opportunity to take a deep breath, find our grounding, and get focused on what really matters, whatever it may be in that moment.
You can read more of my interview with Julie Levine on her blog, Florence & Isabelle.
