Mindful Parenting is a contemplative practice through which we become more mindful of our children and, in doing so, experience a more joyful life.
The Mindful Parent is an organization devoted to sharing with parents
and other child caregivers ways in which to enhance the many joys
of parenting. By mindfully attending to our children, both when
we are physically present with them and when we are physically separated
from them, we can enhance our sense of connection to them and, in
turn, our connection to the cosmos. This makes us a better parent,
a happier person, and a more vital human being.
To facilitate
a more mindful approach to parenting, The Mindful Parent publishes
on its website, and in its bi-weekly
newsletter, mindful parenting
verses
and commentaries. The Mindful Parent website also serves as
a community forum that encourages and supports a mindful parenting
dialogue and the sharing of mindful parenting experiences.
In
the spirit of developing a mindful parenting community, we encourage
you to
submit a mindful parenting experience through verse,
commentary, and imagery to share with others. We believe that
through our collective experience, we can help each other develop
a deeper and more meaningful mindful parenting practice.
Click here to learn more about making a submssion. We thank
everyone who has contributed or is considering making this very compassionate
contribution.
Click
here to learn what recent events are taking place
and of changes to The Mindful Parent website. Please
contact
us with your questions about mindful parenting or to share a mindful
parenting experience. We are devoted to working with you to
enhance your ability to "be" with your children, and to experience
the bliss that awaits you.
Sign up for The Mindful Parent newsletter and
receive information and tips on mindful parenting. It's easy, free, and
fulfilling.
The Morning Sip: Your Paperwork and
Your Child's Homework
Most
school doors have opened and school is an everyday part of life for
parents and child caregivers of children in school. If your
child is in school, no matter his or her age, your child has homework.
Among its many purposes, homework serves as an educational tool as
well as preparation for the work your child will do when the educational
process is concluded and he or she enters "the real world."
If
you spend any part of your day working or filling out paperwork of
any kind, then you are carrying on the process and experience
of homework that reaches back into your childhood. Through the
practice of mindful parenting you can use that time as an opportunity
to connect more deeply with your child.
Today, when you become
aware that you are working in this regard (send yourself an e-mail
or write a note to serve as a helpful cue) open awareness to
your child's presence in your life. Imagine your child doing
his or her homework. If your child has since graduated from
school, revisit the memory or imagine them at work.
This work beneath my fingers
My child's homework
My child's fingers
As you feel the paper or keyboard beneath
your fingers, open awareness to what your fingers are feeling.
Is it smooth, rough, cold, hard? Breathe deeply and
slowly and allow your fingers a few moments to really come to life. Let
your fingers do the thinking -- your thinking mind can take a break.
Your fingers may begin to tingle. As you do this, open
awareness to what your child feels beneath his or her fingers while
doing homework.
Look at your hands and visualize
or imagine your child's hands toughing them. Touch your fingers
to your lips and smile.
