You’ve heard the phrase “it’s as natural as breathing,” describing an activity that can be mastered easily and quickly. Yet, breathing fully and deeply is absent from the day to day lives of many kids and adults.
How do you turn your child’s emotional meltdown into a teaching moment? You don’t have to be a zen master to use a mindful approach to supporting your preschooler’s social-emotional learning. You really just need to learn about communication styles that support a caring, nonjudgmental environment. Within this safe environment, your child can have the space to be aware of his or her feeling, learn to identify specific internal reactions, and learn how to manage emotions.
The ups and downs of tween’s behavior is legendary (it’s the stuff you can remind them when their children reach this age). However, when their energy and mood fluctuations start to upset your balance, it’s time to consciously work on staying present and nonreactive.
As more health and wellness continue to talk about the benefits of mindfulness meditation, you might be looking for classes to take or a center to join to begin your practice. For many of us this is as far as the effort goes for many reason. Classes may be far away, or nothing fits your schedule. Mediation is one more item to place on your already unmanageable schedule.
Emotional literacy, also called emotional intelligence, helps us to live joyful and meaningful lives as people who contribute to the happiness of others. Broadly defined by a strong self awareness and awareness of others’ feelings, emotional literacy carries those highly valued “soft skills” that we associate with people of excellence.
And be sure to join the MindBE Education Facebook Community.
