Mindfulness is the attribute of any human being to be fully
present to the present situation with complete attention. Sometimes, people go
into ‘auto-pilot’ mode upon seeing a problem in front of them. This state of
mind is quite contrary to the mindfulness and it results in deeper anxiety,
stress and exhaustion. For such people, mindfulness meditation can be
beneficial because it helps in restoring mind-body connection and bringing the
person back into the situation with a capability to solve the problem.
With that said, mindfulness is extremely necessary where
parenting is concerned. The best gift that parents can give to their children
is their complete presence in every situation. The main requirement here for
the parents is to be fully present with all of their mental capabilities.
Hence, it also includes realizing that there is no such thing as perfect
parenting because it is nothing more than just a fantasy talk.
The major benefit of mindful parenting is that it helps the
parents in decoding the children’s need right on time. This ability to identify
and address the needs of children comes with meditation in which parents
usually learn about being present to their current situation. Hence, mindful
parenting can be considered as a parenting which is more about correcting the
ways to approach things rather than focusing on how to continue with the good
parenting. Good parenting is something which comes along with the mindfulness
anyway.
Nevertheless, there are some major tenets of mindful
parenting that need to be discussed.
Practicing everyday
Mindfulness comes with practicing. Mindfulness meditation
requires a person to spare 30 minutes from everyday routine and practice the
reconstruction of connection between mind and the body. When you practice it,
you may find your mind ready to wander. You don’t need to stop it. You can let
it go but you also need to notice the thoughts that you get. Then you need
bring awareness back gently into the body. This practicing is for the purpose
of thinking about the present rather than about future while remembering the
glories of past. Such fantasy thoughts can really ruin the parenting
ultimately.
Managing the stress
Another major aspect of mindful parenting is to manage the
stress. Stress can take the charm away from parenting, and the parents can
become more punitive towards the children. This is what you need to stop. And
it can be done only by mindfully managing the stress. A few things that you can
do in this regard are as under.
- When you feel the stress arising, you can use your awareness to put stressful thinking on pause.
- To get the stress relief, take a deep breath. Focus on your breath and you will feel your stress being settled quite amazingly.
- After taking a few breaths, you will be able to observe the balance being created between your body and mind. Observe this reconstruction process to the fullest.
- After getting calmed, you should now be ready to take action. You will now be able to think about the main problem because the cover of stress would have been gone by now.
While you have been making efforts to be mindful, you were
doing all of this to being chance in your life. Now, it’s your children’s turn
to get the benefit of this change in you. First, you need to keep in mind that
children need their sovereignty respected in a way they think. And the matters
in which they usually need this respect do not usually cross the limits which
you would have in your mind regarding parenting. So, giving this respect would
actually help your kids to have better self-esteem and confidence.
Parenting is something you cannot undo or take a break from.
Hence, you don’t have the way out of it. So, the best thing you can do is to be
kind with your kids. The cultivation of kindness and respect would make your
parenting experience the great one.
