Mindful parenting is where parents listen to their children with full attention and are more emotionally aware. Each parent comes with a different parenting style for their little babies and children and trust us, there is no right way to do it – parenting isn’t set in stone. But one style that many parents do like, especially in recent years, is mindful parenting or mindfulness parenting.
There are many ways that you can be a mindful parent and it’s certainly not easy but that’s why we’re here. We have lots of tips, examples, and tricks to help you become a mindful parent if this is your goal but remember, start in bitesize chunks as it can be overwhelming.
Meaning of Parenting
Before we get into the good stuff, let’s get our heads around what the definition of parenting actually is so we can gain a better understanding of the ideas behind mindful parenting.
Simply, a parent is an individual who looks after another person and brings them up. Of course, this isn’t just down to biological genes there are many other ways that parents can present themselves like grandparents, guardians, or stepparents.
Mindful parenting encompasses the 4Cs of parenting which are known as consistency, choices, consequences, and care. By considering all these principles whilst parenting, you’re setting yourself on the path to mindful parenting.
But what is it?
What is Mindful Parenting?
Becoming a mindful parent may seem like a bit of an overwhelming task but trust us, it’ll work wonders for your child as well as you as a parent. It’ll also help build that parent child bond even more, meaning a much closer relationship with your kid.
The idea behind mindful parenting is to be completely present and aware in the moment so you’re aware of how you’re feeling and thinking as well as trying to engage with your child’s emotions too. It also contains a good bit of mindfulness by looking at the world with less judgment and more positivity.
So, listen to your child and show them that they have your full attention, and ensure that they don’t feel judged. As well as this, keep all your emotions in check whilst talking to your little one to show them that you really are listening and you’re keeping those emotions under control – we know it can be tough but you’ve got this.
Examples of Mindfulness Parenting
The idea of mindful parenting may seem all happy with sunshine
and rainbows but putting it into practice can be very difficult, especially with the day to day life of sibling arguments, school runs and so many other things thrown in the mix. So, here are a few examples of mindful parenting to help you to get to grips with it a little bit.
- Listening – Listening is probably one of the biggest parts of mindful parenting and it’s the most important skill when getting to grips with it. You need to listen to your child fully and hear every single thing they have to say without jumping to conclusions or reacting quickly – patience is key. You also need to listen to yourself and your own emotions. Yes, this is all very difficult but you can do it and it’ll help bring you and your kids closer together as well as making sure that they can talk to you.
- Emotional awareness – We’ve spoken a good bit about being aware of your emotions and it’s so important to do this for you and your kid. By showing this awareness to your child, they’ll also pick up on it and use it with other people leading to a much more aware and caring person.
- Compassion – We’ve touched on this slightly whilst considering the different aspects of parenting and it’s a pretty hard one to swallow. There is no way that you will always agree with your child being the decisions they’ve made or the things they believe but shouting doesn’t prove anything. Ultimately, the more compassion you show, the more your child will want to talk to you and the easier it’ll be to sort through things together.
- Slow and deep breathing – This may sound a bit silly to you but it works. If you’re feeling yourself starting to get overwhelmed, taking a deep breath can often work wonders. Being aware of all your senses and breathing deeply can help gain presence again as well as ensuring that you don’t lash out and make your child feel judged.
Signs of Mindful Parenting
There are also many signs of mindful parenting which go hand in hand with the examples we’ve given already which could make it all a bit easier. So, here are a few signs of mindful parenting that may help you be the mindful parent that you strive to be.
- Listening with complete attention
- Accepting without judgment
- Compassion
- Awareness of emotion
- Self regulation as a parent
- Showing empathy to your child
Effects of Mindful Parenting
Being a mindful parent can have more of an effect on your child than you may think and that can affect your relationship with them as well as their relationships with others like friends and family. Not only can it have a good effect on your child but it can also have a positive effect on you as a parent. So, what are the effects?
The art of mindful parenting can teach your child loads of different skills and can help them develop healthy relationships with the people around them.
- Do better in school – You may also find that your child will do better in school as well as better mental health as they feel that their problems are important and are more inclined to listen to other people’s emotions.
- Making decisions – Another factor that research has shown is that mindful parenting can actually help your child make decisions much easier, especially in a social situation as they’re very aware of their emotions and their choices due to the models they’ve had as parents. That also sounds like a pretty rewarding thing for a parent, right?
- Better relationships – Not only will your kid find that their relationships with their friends and other people are much stronger but you’ll feel the bond get closer between you and your child.
- Decrease in stress – mindful parenting is a difficult thing to get to grips with at the start but it’s definitely worth it for everyone involved and you and your kids will be feeling much less stressed as you connect more with your emotions as well as each other – what’s not to love about that?
- You become less judgemental – By connecting with your emotions more, as well as listening fully to your child about their concerns or how they feel, you’ll find yourself becoming a lot less critical and judgemental, not just as a parent but as a person too. You’ll learn to appreciate what’s around you fully by immersing yourself in the now and living your life at the moment.
Can I Be a Mindful Parent?
The answer is simple, of course, you can. No one way of parenting is easy but you can do it. Everyone gets hard days and sometimes you just want to scream into a pillow but with patience, you’ll be able to do it.
Remember when mindful parenting, keep your emotions in check, listen to your child, and breathe breathe breathe. We all find it hard and in the business of everyday life it’s easy to forget but you’ve got this. Remember, there are lots of tips that we’ve given in this article and there are lots of mindful parenting course and free training out there too – you’ve got this.