Mindfulness Resources for Families
Cultivating Emotional Regulation and Presence at Home
Welcome!
It goes without saying we could all use a little mindfulness and emotional regulation some days! This resource is intended to support families with strategies and information to help you through those tough days and even the good days!
We will start with one of our favorite practices - a grounding exercise! See below to begin...
The 5-4-3-2-1 Method: A Grounding Exercise to Manage Anxiety
Social Emotional Learning at Home
Follow the link below to explore the basics of social emotional learning (SEL) as a caregiver. Understanding the link between SEL and mindfulness helps to give language to what our children need to be their best academic self.
What is Mindfulness? A Brief Overview
This 20 minutes video provides a brief overview of mindfulness focused on parents and caregivers. Ongoing videos with provide strategies and activities that families can do at home.
Three Ways to Practice Mindfulness with Your Family
Psychologists Stefanie and Elisha Goldstein, both seasoned meditation practitioners, describe the process of building a mindful family as a three-fold effort: raising the mindful self, the mindful couple, and the mindful child.
Mindfulness Practices for Parents/Guardians
A Mindfulness Practice for Stressed-Out Parents
Try this mindfulness practice the next time that mean inner voice pops up and starts making parenting harder than needs to be.
Patience Meditation for Parents
Mindfulness Activities for Parents
30 Mindfulness Activities for Parents to Help You Relax and Focus on the Present
Mindfulness Practices for Kids
4-7-8 Breathing Exercise by GoZen
Ammi’s Adventures: A 5-Minute Meditation for Kids
This engaging meditation uses the energy and imagery of trees to foster inner connection and emotional regulation. Follow the guided practice and join your child on a mindful adventure.
What is MINDFULNESS and how do you do it? (Zen Den) | Cosmic Kids
PBS Kids - Ideas For Parents
A variety of activities to help navigate feelings and practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness Resources for Teens
Here are some more useful resources for mindful teens:
Stressed Teens Toolbox
A collection of free resources
Books to Check Out - for Parents!
The Mindful Family Guidebook: Reconnect with Spirit, Nature, and the People You Love
Turn off screen time and come back to earth with this family mindfulness guidebook from Chippewa clinical psychologist Renda Dionne Madrigal, PhD, and reconnect with your family through time-honored mindfulness and Indigenous practices and respect for the natural world.
Family life can be chaotic and messy, and we easily forget what matters most for our health and happiness: "the spirit and wellness that have sustained our ancestors and our entire human family for as long as we've existed on the planet," as Renda Dionne Madrigal puts it. If we, as parents, aren't present with our children, they get their values from peer culture, advertising, and social media instead of the family stories, personal dreams, and ancestral instincts we all have as treasures within ourselves to share.
Family life can be chaotic and messy, and we easily forget what matters most for our health and happiness: "the spirit and wellness that have sustained our ancestors and our entire human family for as long as we've existed on the planet," as Renda Dionne Madrigal puts it. If we, as parents, aren't present with our children, they get their values from peer culture, advertising, and social media instead of the family stories, personal dreams, and ancestral instincts we all have as treasures within ourselves to share.
Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Self-Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive
In Parenting from the Inside Out, child psychiatrist Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., and early childhood expert Mary Hartzell, M.Ed., explore the extent to which our childhood experiences shape the way we parent. Drawing on stunning new findings in neurobiology and attachment research, they explain how interpersonal relationships directly impact the development of the brain, and offer parents a step-by-step approach to forming a deeper understanding of their own life stories, which will help them raise compassionate and resilient children.
Books to Check Out - for Kids!
Breathing Makes It Better: A Book for Sad Days, Mad Days, Glad Days, and All the Feelings In-Between
An engaging and interactive story showing children ages 3-6 the power of breath when dealing with new and difficult emotions.
Read aloud and breathe along with this sweet story teaching children how to navigate powerful emotions like anger, fear, sadness, confusion, anxiety, and loneliness. With rhythmic writing and engaging illustrations, Breathing Makes It Better guides children to breathe through their feelings and find calm with recurring cues to stop and take a breath. Simple guided practices, like imagining you are a tree blowing in the wind, follow each story to teach children how to apply mindfulness techniques when they need them the most.
Read aloud and breathe along with this sweet story teaching children how to navigate powerful emotions like anger, fear, sadness, confusion, anxiety, and loneliness. With rhythmic writing and engaging illustrations, Breathing Makes It Better guides children to breathe through their feelings and find calm with recurring cues to stop and take a breath. Simple guided practices, like imagining you are a tree blowing in the wind, follow each story to teach children how to apply mindfulness techniques when they need them the most.
Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents)
Simple mindfulness practices to help your child (ages 5-12) deal with anxiety, improve concentration, and handle difficult emotions—with a 60-minute audio CD of guided exercises read by Myla Kabat-Zinn.
Mindfulness—the quality of attention that combines full awareness with acceptance of each moment, just as it is—is gaining broad acceptance among mental health professionals as an adjunct to treatment. This little book is a very appealing introduction to mindfulness meditation for children and their parents.
Mindfulness—the quality of attention that combines full awareness with acceptance of each moment, just as it is—is gaining broad acceptance among mental health professionals as an adjunct to treatment. This little book is a very appealing introduction to mindfulness meditation for children and their parents.
Story Time!
The Lemonade Hurricane: a story of mindfulness and meditation - a read out loud story book
I Am Peace, A Book of Mindfulness - By Susan Verde | Children's Books Read Aloud
Breathing is My Superpower: Mindfulness Book for Kids to Feel Calm and Peaceful Read Aloud
Video Resources
Under Pressure - Mindfulness for Teens
10 Mindful Movements
Daniel Siegel, Mindful Parenting Demonstration
The Power of Mindfulness: What You Practice Grows Stronger | Shauna Shapiro | TEDxWashingtonSquare
Breathe to Heal | Max Strom | TEDxCapeMay
Contact Us for Further Support!
Staff Development Coordinator
Email: Lbenedict@citiboces.org
Website: https://www.citiboces.org/domain/55
Phone: 315-696-1283
Staff Development Specialist
Email: kginney@citiboces.org
Website: https://www.citiboces.org/domain/55