Mindful Parenting

A Mindful-Parenting
The quality of parental caregiving is an important criterion for the wellbeing of

children and adolescents with Alternate Learning Needs (ALN). Research indicates
that the families with children with ALN suffer from heighted stress and a wide-range
of psychological disorders. Interventions to help parents reduce stress and maintain
well-being are needed so they can better fulfill their caregiving role. As caregivers
are expected to regulate their emotions and have high levels of focused attention
and tolerance in order to be understanding and reacting appropriately to the
behavioural and learning needs of children, interventions that focus on developing
these specific capacities could serve an important function. Mindfulness-based
practice may provide subsequent support in this regard as Mindfulness is known to
improve mood, regulate thoughts and emotions and as well enhance physical and
psychological well-being.
As we already know, Mindfulness is an attentive, present-oriented, nonjudgmental

attitude, where we focus on our thoughts and feelings without judging them as either
good or bad. Since, parenting is an intense and emotional experience, the feelings
and thought processes that are activated during a stressful event or in day-to-day
caregiving may affect the quality of relationship between parents and their children.
Mindfulness based training may aid in the coping abilities of parents by helping them
manage their thoughts to be less judgmental and more accepting, more attune to
their reactions, responding with greater calm when faced with difficult and
emotionally challenged events, thus making them more compassionate towards their
children.
We know that awareness and acceptance are two components of Mindfulness.

Similarly, Mindfulness parenting consists of- nonjudgmental acceptance of the
behaviours, traits and attitudes of the children and self; and awareness of self and
child by being compassionate to one’s child and oneself as a parent. There are
number of programmes for Mindfulness parenting that are tailored specifically for
parents of with children with Autism/Adhd and other learning disabilities. These
training practices nurture focused attention, awareness of internal mental processes,
self-control, and acceptance of the experiences and thoughts without being
judgemental. Mindfulness practices consists of breathing meditation, sound
meditation, thought meditation, and walking meditation and so on.
Some of the benefits of Mindfulness-parenting include-

(1) Taking a pause before responding to a stressful event. By pausing, and taking
a moment for yourselves, you can let go of thoughts and feelings that are
inducing more stress.
(2) Being aware helps you to gain insight and understanding about yourself and
also your surroundings. This also helps in looking at your child differently with
a new awareness, that will help you in knowing the internal state of your child
and also improve your understanding of how your child functions.
(3) Being here and now, you will experience less worry and more joy than
dwelling in past or anticipating future.
(4) You will learn how to deal with difficult thoughts, emotions, and situations
without jumping to conclusions and reacting automatically to them as you
used to do earlier and by doing so you could let go of these thoughts,
emotions, and situations.
(5) Improvements in the quality of relationships and less quarrels with others in
the family.
(6) You will develop positive self-directed attitudes.
(7) Cultivate forgiveness towards self and others.
(8) Become sensitive to others’ needs.
(9) Increased patience and emotional regulation while parenting.
(10) You will be equipped with different strategies that can be applied accordingly
during stressful caregiving.
Research investigating Mindfulness parenting indicated reduced parental stress and

increased parental psychological well-being, as well as improved child behaviour, in
parents of ALN children. It was observed that the practice enabled especially the
mothers to respond with calmness and more appropriately to the needs of their
children. Mothers reported that they experienced more joy and happiness in their
lives and thus had an increasingly harmonious relationship with their children and
other family members. A mindful approach in parenting can serve as a great
psychological source for parents leading to more empathy, flexible coping
mechanisms, appraisal of emotionally challenged situations, reduction in anxiety,
depression and stress, thus promoting a greater psychological well-being.
References
Alsubaie, M., Abbott, R., Dunn, B., Dickens, C., Keil, T. F., Henley, W., & Kuyken, W.
(2017). Mechanisms of action in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and
mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in people with physical and/or
psychological conditions: a systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 55, 74–
91.
Baer, R. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and

empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 125–143.
Benn, R., Akiva, T., Arel, S., & Roeser, R. W. (2012, March 12). Mindfulness
Training Effects for Parents and Educators of Children With Special Needs.
Developmental Psychology.
Billington, T. (2006). Working with autistic children and young people: sense,
experience and the challenges for services, policies and practices. Disability &
Society, 21, 1–13.
Bögels, S., & Restifo, K. (2014). Mindful parenting: a guide for mental health
practitioners. New York: Springer.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Where ever you go, there you are: mindfulness meditation in
everyday life.
Ridderinkhof, A., de Bruin, E.I., Blom, R. et al. Mindfulness-Based Program for

Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Children and
Parents. Mindfulness 10, 1936–1951 (2019).
Van Dam, N. T., Sheppard, S. C., Forsyth, J. P., & Earleywine, M. (2011). Self-
compassion is a better predictor than mindfulness of symptom severity and quality of
life in mixed anxiety and depression. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 123–130.

Mindful Parenting

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A Mindful-Parenting

The quality of parental caregiving is an important criterion for the wellbeing of

As we already know, Mindfulness is an attentive, present-oriented, nonjudgmental

We know that awareness and acceptance are two components of Mindfulness.

Some of the benefits of Mindfulness-parenting include-

Research investigating Mindfulness parenting indicated reduced parental stress and

Baer, R. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and

Ridderinkhof, A., de Bruin, E.I., Blom, R. et al. Mindfulness-Based Program for

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