Cultivating Mindfulness to Raise Children Who Thrive introduces an expanded view of human development and health, which begins before conception and moves through pregnancy, early childhood and adulthood. This book is a call for all prenatal and perinatal professionals and policy makers to appreciate indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing and integrate them with scientific evidence in the care of expectant parents and their babies. It explains how this could also tackle pressing social issues facing the modern world and favour social innovations through a revaluation of preconception, pregnancy, birth and childcare practices. Sansone presents the reader with scientific discoveries of epigenetics, interpersonal neuroscience, quantum physics, attachment, anthropology, prenatal and perinatal psychology and mindfulness, which interestingly resonate with the intuitions of primal wisdom. The book will be of interest to clinicians, policy makers, researchers, parents, and those interested in the prenatal and perinatal roots of human development and well-being.
Written by a pediatrician and based in proven-effective mindfulness techniques, this book will help you and your child with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) keep calm, flexible, and in control. If you are a parent of a child with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), you probably face many unique daily challenges. Kids with ADHD are often inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive, since ADHD affects all of self-management and self-regulation. As a result, you might become chronically frustrated or stressed out, which makes caring for ADHD that much harder. In this book, a developmental pediatrician presents a proven-effective program for helping both you and your child with ADHD stay cool and collected while remaining flexible, resilient, and mindful. Bertin addresses the various symptoms of ADHD using non-technical language and a user-friendly format. In addition, he offers guidelines to help you assess your child's strengths and weaknesses, create plans for building skills and managing specific challenges, lower stress levels for both yourself and your child, communicate effectively, and cultivate balance and harmony at home and at school. If you are a parent, caregiver, or mental health professional, this book provides a valuable guide.
The bestselling author of the million-copy bestseller Wherever You Go, There You Are and Full Catastrophe Living joins forces with his wife, Myla, in this revised edition of their groundbreaking book about mindfulness in parenting children of all ages. Updated with new material -- including an all new introduction and expanded practices in the epilogue -- Everyday Blessings remains one of the few books on parenting that embraces the emotional, intuitive, and deeply personal experience of being a parent, applying the groundbreaking "mind/body connection" expertise from global mindfulness leader, Jon Kabat-Zinn and his wife, Myla Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness is a way of living and there is increasing scientific evidence of its value for optimal health and well-being. A new field in psychology is devoted to mindful parenting, and mindfulness is being increasingly integrated into K-12 education. There has never been a better time for cultivating greater mindfulness in parenting and in family life.
In chaotic times, a deep breath can bring calm to your classroom. As the pandemic recedes and the world gradually returns to “normal,” it’s more important than ever to make your classroom a place that supports mental health and improves overall wellness. In this book, you’ll discover the why and the how of using techniques to reduce stress, improve executive function, and set the stage for increased memory and attention, better self-regulation, and improved cognition and academic learning. With this practical, research-based guide, you’ll incorporate age- and grade-appropriate meditation, breathing, mindfulness, and secular yoga activities into your teaching, in ways that work for in-person as well as virtual and hybrid settings. Features include Adaptations for special populations, including those who have experienced trauma Recommendations for family involvement in social emotional learning Guidance on self-care for teachers and school staff Data from successfully implemented programs Dozens of illustrations, QR codes, and reflective questions Mindfulness isn’t just a buzzword-it’s a time-tested, teacher-tested technique for reducing anxiety and improving you students’ outcomes. Incorporate it into your classroom and see for yourself how much good a deep breath can do.
This book offers a deep dive into mindfulness as an effective tool for managing stress and promoting overall well-being. Through a blend of theory and practice, the author details how mindfulness, rooted in ancient traditions, can be applied in the modern world to combat everyday stress. Exploring practical techniques and scientific studies, the book illuminates how mindfulness can improve mental and physical health, emotional regulation, and quality of life, making it an indispensable guide for anyone interested in improving their well-being through mindful practices.
Under the tremendous pressure and influence of peers and media today, children are being conditioned to follow the American Happiness Formula: look good + perform well + get approval = happiness. Yet rather than offering fulfillment and confidence, this outwardly based quest is causing alarming rates of childhood stress, anxiety, and depression. Life Ki-do Parenting provides the antidote, giving you the techniques to help your child find true and lasting happiness from within. Integrating twenty years of experience teaching life skills and martial arts to thousands of children, twenty-five years of mindfulness and meditation study, and data and research from modern psychology and neuroscience, Jonathan Hewitt developed the Tools for Life system, made up of four powerful components: River Check-in for improving focus River Effort for building confidence and a strong sense of self A-B Formula for developing resilience when facing life's challenges My Shoes, Your Shoes, Our Shoes for cultivating social intelligence These four original tools empower children with the critical skills they need to thrive today and into adulthood. Going beyond concept and theory, they give you kid-friendly vocabulary and a simple process for helping your children look inward to monitor themselves rather than looking outward to others for their validation and self-worth. What greater peace can you have as a parent than knowing you have given your child the roots and wings to successfully navigate their way through life?
"Connected Parenting: Raising Resilient, Emotionally-Healthy Kids" is an insightful and practical guide for parents seeking to cultivate strong emotional bonds with their children while fostering resilience and emotional well-being. Written with compassion and expertise, this book offers a comprehensive approach to parenting that emphasizes the power of connection. Drawing on the latest research in child development and psychology, the author provides valuable insights, actionable strategies, and real-life examples to help parents navigate the challenges of raising resilient, emotionally-healthy kids in today's fast-paced world. Whether you're a new parent or navigating the teenage years, this book serves as a trustworthy companion, guiding you through the journey of building a secure and supportive parent-child relationship that lays the foundation for a lifetime of emotional strength and well-being.
Discover the proven ways parents can help their children learn, overcome adversity, get along with others, and become independent—while you relax and enjoy being a parent How do children thrive? As a parent, you probably think about this all the time. You want your children to have happy, healthy, and meaningful lives—but what’s the best way to support them? In How Children Thrive, developmental pediatrician and parent Dr. Mark Bertin provides a positive, simple, and empowering approach for raising children of all ages. Bringing together mindfulness, new science on brain development, and the messy reality of being a parent, Dr. Bertin has a created a breakthrough guide that will help children—and their parents—flourish. Research has shown that the key to raising resilient, kind, and independent children lies in executive function, our mental capacity to manage just about everything in life. "Despite its wonky, overly scientific name, there is nothing complicated about building executive function," Dr. Bertin writes. "It’s actually a lot more straightforward and less anxiety-provoking than most of the parenting advice out there." Through concise, easily applied chapters, Dr. Bertin provides simple strategies for helping your children develop healthy EF while taking care of yourself and enjoying your family. Highlights include: Mindfulness—how it directly builds EF and how to incorporate mindful practices for the whole family • The importance of free play, the science behind it, and how to encourage more of it • Technology—how much is too much? At what age is screen time OK? Help your kids have a healthy relationship with media. • Create simple routines that support independence around homework, nutrition, sleep, friendships, and more • Age-appropriate advice for toddlers, teens, and even your twenty-somethings • Limits and discipline: How to determine—and stick with—consequences for unwanted behavior • Understand markers for whether your child is developmentally on track or if extra support might be needed • Find the advice you need when you need it with short, independent chapters full of concrete practices • Bring more calm, ease, and joy to your parenting while taking care of yourself—even when family life gets chaotic • Give yourself permission to make mistakes and adapt along the way "The pressure to be the perfect parent is overwhelming," writes Dr. Bertin, "but the truth is the job is too challenging and varied to ever be done to perfection." With compassion and reassurance, Dr. Bertin presents a relaxed, instinctual, and evidence-based approach to raising children who thrive.
A new educational paradigm for youth mindfulness. “If you are a teacher, or an educator, or involved in school administration and curriculum development, the book you hold in your hands has the potential to transform your life, the lives of your students, and the life of the school itself, as well as education in America.”—Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, from the Foreword With attention spans waning and stress on the rise, many teachers are looking for new ways to help students concentrate, learn, and thrive. The Way of Mindful Education is a practical guide for cultivating attention, compassion, and well-being not only in these students, but also in teachers themselves. Packed with lesson plans, exercises, and considerations for specific age groups and students with special needs, this working manual demonstrates the real world application of mindfulness practices in K-12 classrooms. Part I, Why Mindful Education Matters, explains what mindfulness is, the science behind its benefits for students and educators, and the inspiring work that is already underway in the Mindful Education movement. In Part II, Begin with Yourself, we are reminded that in order to teach mindfully, we need to be mindful. Here teachers will learn the when, where, and how of mindfulness so they can effectively embody its practices with their students. Mindfulness practices offer teachers self-care and attention skills that prepare them to teach with greater energy and mastery. Discover how simple exercises can help manage stress, focus attention, develop compassion, and savor positive experiences in everyday life. Part III, Cultivating a Mindful Classroom, explores the qualities of a mindful teacher, the ingredients of a mindful learning environment, and helpful skills for appropriate, supportive work with cultural diversity, student stress and trauma, and varying age groups and developmental stages. Finally, in Part IV, Mindful Education Curriculum, we learn eighteen ready-to-use mindfulness lessons for use in schools. These practical exercises, designed to foster skills like embodiment, attention, heartfulness, and interconnectedness, can be readily adapted for any age group and population, and the author draws from his extensive personal experience to offer a wealth of tips for introducing them to students in real-time. Decades of research indicate the impressive benefits of mindfulness in social, emotional, and cognitive development, and as an antidote to emotional dysregulation, attention deficits, and social difficulties. This book invites teachers, administrators, and anyone else involved in education to take advantage of this vital tool and become purveyors of a mindful, compassionate, ethical, and effective way of teaching.
Confident Parents, Confident Kids lays out an approach for helping parents—and the kids they love—hone their emotional intelligence so that they can make wise choices, connect and communicate well with others (even when patience is thin), and become socially conscious and confident human beings. How do we raise a happy, confident kid? And how can we be confident that our parenting is preparing our child for success? Our confidence develops from understanding and having a mastery over our emotions (aka emotional intelligence)—and helping our children do the same. Like learning to play a musical instrument, we can fine-tune our ability to skillfully react to those crazy, wonderful, big feelings that naturally arise from our child’s constant growth and changes, moving from chaos to harmony. We want our children to trust that they can conquer any challenge with hard work and persistence; that they can love boundlessly; that they will find their unique sense of purpose; and they will act wisely in a complex world. This book shows you how. With author and educator Jennifer Miller as your supportive guide, you'll learn: the lies we’ve been told about emotions, how they shape our choices, and how we can reshape our parenting decisions in better alignment with our deepest values. how to identify the temperaments your child was born with so you can support those tendencies rather than fight them. how to align your biggest hopes and dreams for your kids with specific skills that can be practiced, along with new research to support those powerful connections. about each age and stage your child goes through and the range of learning opportunities available. how to identify and manage those big emotions (that only the parenting process can bring out in us!) and how to model emotional intelligence for your children. how to deal with the emotions and influences of your choir—the many outside individuals and communities who directly impact your child’s life, including school, the digital world, extended family, neighbors, and friends. Raising confident, centered, happy kids—while feeling the same way about yourself—is possible with Confident Parents, Confident Kids.
