What's a Parent's Role?

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Mindful parenting is using self-reflection and self-awareness to guide how you respond to difficult moments.

The emotions you are grappling with might be anger or anxiety, but the same techniques apply.

Identify the physical reactions you have with emotions. Naming these helps you identify the emotion early.

One of the things we hear from parents is that they feel terrible after losing their temper with their child. That temper flare could look like yelling or lobbing unreasonable consequences for problematic behavior. Sometimes, it can be more like withdrawing from your child—the silent treatment or cold terseness. It just does not feel good after the event when you recall those times. Another difficult time is when you feel very anxious about your child. You may hover or ask just a few too many questions about whatever the issue is or become stiff because you are working hard to hide your anxiety.

Example: A Parent Losing Their Temper Over Dawdling

Jasmine is an 11-year-old sixth grader who is generally cooperative and in good spirits. One issue, however, is that at times she dawdles when getting ready for school in the morning and has been frequently late or just sliding onto the bus at the last moment. Her mom, Anita, understood this dawdling as expressing some anxiety about a school test or a struggle with a friend. She had done the same thing herself as a youngster and had often gotten into trouble for it. So, Anita tried to patiently engage Jasmine in the steps........

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