4 Mindful Ways to Discipline Your Child

My recent podcast episode 5 Simple Mindfulness Habits for Better Parenting caused quite a stir. Dozens of parents reached out with thoughtful comments and questions about this hot topic.

After 25 years of parenting, it even gave me cause to stop and ponder about how life-changing this mindset can truly be in every area of one’s parenting life, but particularly when it comes to the way we discipline our children.

As stated in that episode, I equated mindful parenting to going back to basics with everything you do for your family. “Remove all the bells and whistles of today’s non-stop lifestyle and just enjoy whatever you and your children are doing at that very moment.”

As simplistic as that sounds, we all know that our crazy, overscheduled lifestyles don’t necessarily make living in the moment very easy. That’s why the term mindful is key to changing how we rush through life, going from trying to keep our heads above water to instead learning to float on top of the wave and enjoy the ride.

I’ve been living a mindful lifestyle with my family for many years now, even before it became the popular mentality that is trending today. In fact, I’d say it’s been one of the key items in my parenting tool box.

Examples of mindful parenting to me are:

• Waking up and celebrating my teen daughter’s great hair day with her rather than being preoccupied with my overflowing inbox of emails.
• Not running around the house chasing all the fluffy dust bunnies left by our adorable Golden Retriever puppy but instead observing how loved she is by all my kids.
• Even listening in appreciation to the quiet whir of our dryer while waiting for a load of towels to dry (we were without one for nearly a month this past summer—I’ll never take this appliance for granted again!) rather than griping to my family that the majority of my precious life is spent washing their clothes.

Get the picture? By shifting your conscious thoughts to what is happening in the present rather than zoning out about your daily to-do list or being swept up in events that might be happening weeks away, you’ll start to appreciate life much differently.

When practiced routinely, living a mindful lifestyle can help us focus on the many positives that surround our family on a daily basis. And as we'll discuss today, it’s also beneficial when things aren’t going so well and you need to course correct your child’s negative...

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