Mindful parenting ( or mindfulness in general) isn’t something that comes easy to me.
Let me give me you an example:
One slow Saturday morning, I noticed I was rushing breakfast so my daughter and I could hurry up to go on our usual morning walk.
I thought to myself, why am I rushing this moment when we have no time restraints?
In fact, my daughter was content admiring the toys scattered around her, and my cup of coffee was still pipping hot.
Maybe this has happened to you before.
This rush to get through things in order to go to the next thing, when in reality there’s no reason to hurry.
Yet by doing this we lose sight of the beauty of the present moment.
Here are 3 simple habits you can take with you on your journey to practice mindful parenting.
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1. The EGO
In her book, The Awakening Family, Dr. Shefali Tsabary, speaks on how our ego is the leading cause of disconnection from our children, making us lose sight from who they truly are.
She describes the ego as rooted in fear, a perception of our identity, based on the need to protect ourselves in childhood.
The first step to practicing mindful parenting is to to recognize when our reaction to our children’s behavior is coming from the ego.
Once we are aware of it, we can then start to respond in a compassionate way ( that’s rooted in security vs. fear)
2. Observe
I love to observe my 5 month old staring at the art work on our walls, really admiring all the different colors and patterns.
This is simple observation grounds me into the present moment,and reminds me of the beauty of just to be.
What new things could you see just by observing your little one without interruption?
3. Mindful Screen Time
Setting boundaries with our devices makes us :
- More productive ( set time aside to 100% focus on a work task. Personally, 15-20 minute increments throughout the day work best for me)
- Present with our families / more conscious in motherhood
- Less chance of being overstimulated / consumption fatigue
- Not readily available to everyone 24/7 , giving our minds a rest