Take a moment to be still. Feel connected to, and held by the earth, and breathe into the whole body. Direct the breath to any areas of stress or tension to help release the burdens. Exhale and let it all go. Repeat this exercise as many times as you need, until you feel relaxed. Remember that when you pause in stress, you are better able to respond to what life is giving you.

These mindfulness activities for children and for ourselves invite us to take a moment to pause, and invite comfort, safety and belonging into our hearts and minds. When our minds feel like there is too much going on, we can remember to pause for a few moments and hold this quiet time in your heart.

We have arrived in the year 2023! Let’s welcome it in softly and with kindness. Do you tend to put great expectations on yourself for making New Years resolutions, for starting the year with a bang and a spring in your step? I think we all do. But, this isn’t always the case for many (if not all) of us. And if we overpromise ourselves from the off, it can result with us being less productive or feeling worse that we did before. 

It is important to be happy right? Absolutely! But it is unrealistic to be this way all of them time as life loves to throw a lot at us, good and bad. In light of Children’s Mental Health Week, we wanted to share our happiness toolbox to offer coping mechanisms for when the rough stuff comes our way, as well as to help bring in some joy into your life.

As a parent, if you want your child to develop a healthy sense of emotional resilience to all the various, mounting pressures there are on children each day, model mindful behaviour yourself. Your child will observe the way you deal with stress, anger, happiness, etc., all of which you have the ability to positively model.