How does mindfulness help parents?
While many parents consider their children to be the greatest gifts in their lives, we can all acknowledge that parenting comes with a unique set of challenges and stresses as well.
Mindfulness strengthens our ability to regulate our emotions, take care of ourselves, and pause before we react automatically. All of that enhances our ability to show up and the be the parents we want to be for our children. Mindful parents help raise kids who have less anxiety, depression, and acting out.
What will I be introduced to in this course?
- Responding vs reacting as a parent
- Self-compassion in parenting
- Gratitude and savoring the good
- Working with your inner critic
- Mindfulness techniques for reducing stress
- Mindfulness practices for the whole family
Logistics
The course will run on Tuesday evenings from 8:00-8:45 pm CST in the month of July (skipping July 16). Course dates are July 2, July 9, July 23, and July 30. The course fee is $60. Register here.
The course is also available to be scheduled privately for individuals / couples or groups. Please reach out to jessicadixonmindfulness@gmail.com for more information and pricing.
FAQs
Is this course targeting parents with children of a certain age?
While some of the mindfulness techniques for children that I will provide will be useful for children ages 3-4 through teenagers, parents of all ages of children are welcome (including newborns!)
Due to the nature of parenting, what if I’m unexpectedly unavailable for a class?
I will plan to record our classes and share a link to the video back to all registrants at the end of class so they can catch up if they miss a session.
Is mindful parenting effective?
In one study, researchers at the University of Vermont surveyed over 600 parents of children ages 3-17 to see how mindfulness related to their children’s well-being. Parents reported on their trait mindfulness (how mindful they are in everyday interactions), mindfulness in parenting (how attentive, non-judging, and non-reacting they are in interactions with their children), and positive versus negative parenting practices (for example, expressing unconditional love and setting limits versus using harsh physical punishments). They also reflected on their kid’s typical coping styles—if they tended to become anxious or depressed or act out in disruptive ways, like hitting or yelling during difficult situations.
Analyses showed that parents who reported more mindful parenting engaged in more positive and less negative parenting behavior, which was then linked to more positive behavior in their kids—meaning less anxiety, depression, and acting out.
Are you a parent yourself?
Not yet! But time and again students in my beginner meditation or self-compassion courses who are parents have told me that the mindfulness practices they are learning are so helpful to them with their parenting. I thought it was time to create and share a course directly targeting parents, who could then also have community in the class to learn and share their experiences.
Are you a parenting expert?
I am not an expert on early childhood development and the focus of the course will not be on working on specific behaviors that your children are doing or not doing. The focus of the course will be on you as a parent and how you can work with the emotions, (the joys and stresses!) that come with parenting.
Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25633828, https://www.mindful.org/mindful-parenting-may-keep-kids-troubl