Raising emotionally healthy children who will live their BEST life..
I was already sold on the magic of mindfulness with kids.
I’ve been a mental health practitioner for 15 years now and have steadily seen and heard more and more about the ability for mindfulness to effectively address mental health concerns in childhood.
When you’re raising the strong-willed child, you just know.
Anyone who’s tried positive parenting or positive discipline has something in common.
They’ve battled against the self-doubt, insecurity, and ambivalence that comes along with the risk of doing things differently.
My eyelids are heavy from a late night of decorating heart cookies for my seven-year old’s classroom, only to be followed by an early morning of packing lunches and finishing up homework and signing what seem to be hundreds of school forms (and where are all the dang pens anyway!?).
Inside: Experts share their top positive parenting techniques for raising emotionally healthy and well-adjusted children.
Parenting often feels like a fifty sided Rubik’s cube, deceivingly simple before you really get into it, but seemingly impossible to figure out when you’re in the thick of things.
Instead of contending with brightly colored toys, parents find themselves sorting out variables such as their own upbringing, expectations of others and wading through the massive amount of parenting information at our fingertips.
Oh, and then there’s the small task of taking into account each child’s individual needs and challenges.
If there’s one time of year perfect for family bonding activities, it’s Christmas.
My 8-year old’s face was lit as bright as our Christmas tree as she leaned over her sister in eager anticipation. I have never seen a child as excited about a gift in my entire life.
The most surprising part? It was a gift she was giving.
Have you ever taken the time to really think and reflect on what qualities you’d most like to see in the little human being you’re raising? Of course, I’m not talking about the qualities you’d like to see now, those are fairly easy for most of us to tick off.
I’d say it was around my daughter’s third birthday when it became clear we were in over our heads.
Between unmet expectations that a child will always listen to their parents and the harsh reactions and discipline that flowed from our frustration, we felt like we were hitting our heads against a brick wall with our fierce pig-tailed little lady.
