mindful

Click here to read ‘Listening Mothers Program – what’s it all about Part I’

Listening Mothers is a specific kind of group, a specific solution to these universal problems and more.  We start by discussing the early experience of motherhood.

In a typical group, we begin introductions by asking people to share their name, their baby’s name and their experience of the pregnancy and giving birth. Often the first participants will give a short and sweet synopsis of how pregnancy was fine, really, compared to some stories.

[click to continue…]

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Meditation – an introduction Part I

by Joel and Michelle Levey April 22, 2010
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At the heart of each of the world’s great religions is a profound wisdom tradition with inner transformational teachings and meditation practices.  While the outer, exoteric religious traditions offer ethical and moral guidelines necessary for harmonizing and aligning our lives with a universal nature and sacred reality, it is the inner transformational teachings of the [...]

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The ‘only child’ – pros and cons

by New York Times Family Column April 19, 2010
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Question: I have an only child. What’s your best advice for raising one? Answer: Raising an only child brings special challenges and rewards. An only child is always a “first child.” Parents may feel that no other child can compare. But they may also be at a loss because they don’t have the experience with [...]

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Head banging…and we’re not talking about rock ‘n roll!

by New York Times Family Column March 28, 2010
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Question: When he is frustrated, our 25-month-old boy hits himself or bangs his head. His mother and I don’t know whether this behavior is normal. One set of in-laws considers it bizarre. Other families are experiencing the same thing, we learned from our web research. We understand that at his age, our son has little [...]

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Character Corner: Curiosity — musings, quotes, and parenting tips from WisdomCommons.org

by Valerie March 20, 2010
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Six-year-old Tommy has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.  As he buzzes from activity to activity, he can drive his classmates or babysitter nuts. His father, Joe, appreciates their dilemma:  During a recent trip to the Grand Canyon, Joe turned around to see that Tommy had scrambled over a protective railing and was inching [...]

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Emotional coaching or is it magic?

by Thoughts from a Mindful Mom March 17, 2010
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The other day I found myself at home alone with my two year old.  My three older children were out with friends and I was relaxing on the couch, reading a book, while my two year old was playing nicely. Then, he decided that he wanted a snack.  From where I was sitting, I saw [...]

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Character Corner: Courtesy– musings, quotes, and parenting tips from WisdomCommons.org

by Valerie March 13, 2010
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Courtney grew up in a strict authoritarian family in which children (who should be seen not heard) addressed adults by their titles and last names:  Mr. Jameson, Pastor Samuels and so on.

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Children learn from parents and parents learn from children

by New York Times Family Column March 10, 2010
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Question: My husband and I have different opinions about how parents’ behavior affects a child. I believe that the child learns from your behavior and watches how you react to situations, in turn learning how to handle his emotions. If you are patient even when a child is fussy, that helps him learn to be [...]

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Five ways to raise kind children; a re-post from the Half Full blog

by Christine Carter March 8, 2010
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Click here to learn more about The Science for Raising Happy Kids and the Half Full Blog Is your teenager grouchy? Does your little one have a cold? Research shows that kindness is a sure route to greater happiness and, in some cases, improved health. (See posting, What You Get When You Give from my [...]

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From discipline to self-discipline

by New York Times Family Column March 4, 2010
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The goal of parental discipline is to help a child rely on his own motivation — to control his impulses, manage his emotions, respect the needs, feelings and rights of others, and “do the right thing” for its own sake. A child who believes in himself can dare to face his mistakes. Gradually he must [...]

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Character Corner: Common Sense — musings, quotes, and parenting tips from WisdomCommons.org

by Valerie March 3, 2010
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Josie, who is in the fifth grade, spends the afternoon with her neighbor Debbie, who is a year older.  Other girls join them.  That evening, Josie shows her mom a round red mark on her arm and confesses that she let the older girl touch her arm with a hot spoon as a secret initiation [...]

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The challenge of mindfulness for Mothers

by Mara Applebaum February 28, 2010
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Modern women still feel the centuries of social command to be selfless and all sacrificing for the sake of their children. Yet mindfulness is impossible without a sense of oneself. Earlier generations of women — our own mothers and grandmothers — had fewer opportunities to develop their own identities or to even know how they [...]

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Character Corner: Citizenship – weekly musings, quotes and parenting tips from WisdomCommons.org

by Valerie February 25, 2010
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Thirteen year old Katherine resents having to pick up and vacuum the basement playroom every Saturday morning.  She protests that she doesn’t even spend time down there – that all of the clutter and dirt are from her younger sisters, Jill and Jennifer.

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A child therapist’s view on Mindful Parenting

by Jason Goldstein February 24, 2010
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A child needs to be met and held. In my work with children, my focus is to empathicaly recognize these needs of the child. This includes the need for validation of a child’s affective or emotional experience, the need to be admired, and the need for soothing.

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Review of NY Times Article.com; Empathy’s Natural, but Nurturing it Helps

by Wendie Bramwell February 22, 2010
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The natural empathy that Jane Brody refers to (Empathy’s Natural, but Nurturing it Helps) is often evident in children and adults when they interact with an infant.

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“Where did I come from?”

by New York Times Family Column February 21, 2010
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Question: My older daughter was conceived through IVF (in vitro fertilization). Shortly after her birth I began wondering when she might ask the inevitable question, “Where did I come from?” What would you say?

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Reflections on The Mindful Brain written by Daniel Siegel

by Community of Mindful Parents February 18, 2010
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Welcome to a journey into the heart of our lives. Being mindfully aware, attending to the richness of our experiences, creates scientifically recognized enhancements in our physiology, our mental functions, and our interpersonal relationships. Being fully present in our awareness opens our lives to new possibilities of well-being.

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Toddler resists naps

by New York Times Family Column February 17, 2010
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Question: My 3-year-old son now resists a nap until late afternoon. Of course that affects his behavior. (We also have a 5-month-old baby boy, which is part of the problem.) If our 3-year-old eventually puts himself down for a nap in late afternoon, bedtime is a nightmare.

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Character Corner: Acceptance — weekly musings, quotes, and parenting tips from WisdomCommons.org

by Valerie February 16, 2010
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Ten year old Janie discovered a lump on her guinea pig, Panda.   She showed her mother, Ann, and they took the guinea pig to the vet, who told them that it might or might not be cancer and that surgery would cost $600. 

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Compassion in action

by Yaffa Maritz February 10, 2010
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In a previous post (Getting through giving) I discussed how giving, rather than getting is key to our well being both as individuals and as a society.  Since then, it seems that everywhere I look, I see the emerging  trend of communities  coming together to celebrate the art of collaboration, support and compassion.

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Peering in

by Thoughts from a Mindful Mom February 9, 2010
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Yesterday I watched the Superbowl. This doesn’t sound like a big deal—me and millions of other Americans, right?  Wrong.  I have hated watching sports for most of my life.  As a kid, I whined so much on Sundays that there was nothing to watch it’s a wonder I don’t recall upsetting my parents.  In those [...]

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A child’s ‘big emotions’

by New York Times Family Column February 8, 2010
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Question: How do I help an almost-6-year-old learn to handle disappointment and frustration? This is a child with big emotions, both positive and negative. Nearly every time he doesn’t get his way, he instantly gives in to his impulse to stomp, throw something, cry, scream, and sometimes hit and push.

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Mindful Food Selection

by Beverly Pressey February 5, 2010
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As mindful parents, I imagine that you have tried to decipher a nutrition label on a food package in order to determine if the product was healthy or not.  Odds are that after studying this label you were still unsure.  You may be unsure because most consumers in the United States don’t have a visual [...]

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Learning to walk

by New York Times Family Column January 29, 2010
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At about 12 months, as a child focuses her energy on the big developmental step of learning to walk, her emotional controls may be disrupted.

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Character Corner: Balance — weekly musings, quotes, and parenting tips from WisdomCommons.org

by Valerie January 13, 2010
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Through 2010, the Community of Mindful Parents will feature weekly articles about character virtues and parenting.  What character qualities are valued across time, religion and culture?  What do our traditions have to say?  How can we nurture them in our children? Twelve-year-old Annie gets straight A’s– at a cost.  She hurries away from the table [...]

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Don’t hide that squash!

by Beverly Pressey January 9, 2010
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Many parents hide food in order to get their children to eat what they think is healthy.  There are even several cook books that will assist you in these efforts.  What does hiding food accomplish?  On the positive side it allows parents to feel better about the healthy foods their child unknowingly eats.  All other [...]

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Strategies for mastering stress

by Joel and Michelle Levey January 9, 2010
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Life’s myriad of changes often lead to an accumulation of stress. Here is a compendium of simple, common sense strategies for transforming mental and physical tension into energy creatively and effectively expressed. None of these strategies are new. Many will be familiar to you, but we often need to be reminded. Circle the ones you’d [...]

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Downtime – do we really deserve it?

by Thoughts from a Mindful Mom January 8, 2010
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Okay, it’s 4:57.  Somehow you’ve managed to have dinner already prepared and it is warming in the oven.   Your husband is due home in about half an hour at which time, you’re hoping on having a lovely family dining experience.

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Parenting thoughts from a ‘Cancer Mom’

by Jodilyn September 6, 2009
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After having spent 5 days inpatient with Sam,  I spent the weekend at home with Julia (14 years) and Jeffrey (10 years) which was really interesting and thought provoking. Yesterday I brought Julia to the hospital and left her chatting happily with Sam while my husband Benjy and I went to do the laundry upstairs [...]

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