Stress getting you down? Mindfulness might be your fix.
In our bustling online world, you have most likely heard of a mental health term called “mindfulness”. Mindfulness is defined by Oxford Languages as, “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique”. When thinking of mindfulness techniques, your mind probably directs you to things like long meditations and breath work, but it can be so much simpler than that. We’ll get into that later.
So- How effective is mindfulness anyway?
Most parents believe in the effectiveness of mindfulness for themselves (Mathur et. al,. 2021), but how about for their kids? One study examined the effect that parental mindfulness had on parent-child interactions in children that were diagnosed with autism. Researchers found that when mothers practiced mindfulness techniques in their parenting strategy, their children exhibited noticeably less noncompliance, aggression and even less self-injury (Singh, et. al.,. 2006). This is a great example of how mindfulness not only improves parenting practices, but is beneficial for your child too.
Mindfulness in daily life
Mindfulness isn’t necessarily a grandiose spiritual retreat or a several hour long meditation. In fact, more informal practices of mindfulness in daily life has proven to improve parental burnout symptoms (Urbanowicz et. al,. 2024). Parents who struggle with time constraints and busy schedules can still reap the benefits of mindfulness- here’s a few examples of how:
- Breath work
- Short guided meditation
- Practicing awareness of sensations in your body and objects in your environment
- Journalling
- Visualizations of places of calm
10 Minute Meditation for Stress Relief
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG7DBA-mgFY&t=67s
Great FREE Mindfulness Meditation Apps
- Headspace
- Balance: Meditation and Sleep
- Calm
Reflection Question: How can you realistically implement mindfulness into your daily routine?
References
Mathur, M., Kerr, B. R., Babal, J. C., Eickhoff, J. C., Coller, R. J., & Moreno, M. A. (2021). US parents’ acceptance of learning about mindfulness practices for parents and children: National Cross-sectional survey. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 4(4). https://doi.org/10.2196/30242
Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Winton, A. S. W., Fisher, B. C., Wahler, R. G., Mcaleavey, K., Singh, J., & Sabaawi, M. (2006). Mindful parenting decreases aggression, noncompliance, and self-injury in children with autism. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 14(3), 169–177. https://doi.org/10.1177/10634266060140030401
Urbanowicz, A. M., Shankland, R., Rance, J., Bennett, P., & Gauchet, A. (2024). Informal mindfulness practices: A new approach to the prevention and treatment of Parental Burnout. The Family Journal, 32(4), 580–586. https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807241230048
