Mindfulness is the new mantra for Parents

Practising mindfulness is highly recommended to 21st century parents weighed down by the multifarious challenges of raising children in the age of ubiquitous social media, writes Aruna Raghuram Mindfulness is more than a trendy buzzword in this age of high-stress lifestyles. It’s being increasingly acknowledged by scientists, psychologists and wellness experts as the prerequisite of mental and emotional well-being. Defined as the art of “maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens” (Prof. Jon Kabat-Zinn, University of Massachusetts Medical School), mindfulness is rapidly evolving into a popular form of meditation practised by a growing number of adults. In particular, practising mindfulness is highly recommended to 21st century parents weighed down by the multifarious challenges of raising children in the age of ubiquitous social media. “Mindfulness is a state of mind: one of calmness, gratitude, and compassion. For instance when you re­solve to accept whatever comes your way without passing judgement, it’s a mindful practice. While formal practices include focusing on regulating breathing and meditation, you can informally practise mindfulness in daily life. For example, you can eat, walk and cook mindfully. For parents in particular, practicing mindfulness has many benefits. It helps to slow and calm them, listen to and accept children’s opinions without judgement and most importantly reduces anxiety and stress,” says Subha Parthasarathy, a Bengaluru-based parents counsellor and trainer. Indeed there’s no dearth of anecdotal and scientific evidence to support the beneficial correlation between mindfulness and positive parenting. A 2016 study on mindfulness and parenting, published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, concluded that “increasing evidence supports the relevance of mindfulness in parenting”. The study which surveyed mothers of preschool children found a significant positive correlation between mindfulness and parenting and negative correlation between mindfulness and stress, depression and anxiety. Mindful parenting was strongly linked with reduced stress specific to the role of a mother, to parent-child interactions and perceptions about children. Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, USA, and co-author (with his wife Myla Kabat-Zinn) of Everyday Bless­ings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting (1998), is a strong proponent of parents practising mindfulness to improve parent-child interaction and bonding. The key to mindful parenting, they write, is “acknowledging and supporting the sovereignty of children” which helps build “self-accep­tance, self-esteem, self-confidence and trust in his/her own true nature”, in them. Sindhuri An­anth, who works for a not-for-profit school in Bengaluru and is the mother of five-year-old Aadith, swears by the benefits of mindful par­enting after complet­ing a six-week online course of the Uni­versity of California Los Angeles (UCLA) in daily mindfulness. “Practising mindfulness has helped to control my emotions and has calmed me down. It has prompted me to be more child-led in my parenting. Today, I make it a point to listen to my son and put his needs first. For instance, Aadith is an introvert and doesn’t socialise easily. Mindfulness has taught me to be patient with…