Mindful Mothering Challenge#1

Welcome to the launch of my Mindful Mothering Challenge Series, a splendid idea I harvested from Hybrid Rasta Mama which is a series of exercises that we can practice together to become more mindful within our day-to-day life. Once a week I will post a little quest for us to embark on that we can then share our resulting insights the following week to hopefully make steady changes towards parenting more consciously. 

This week’s challenge is about making a commitment to our children about learning to parent consciously. It is an affirmation to them that we are now open to changing our relationship with them for the better by investing our time and energy into connecting with them authentically. The exercise is then quite simple: to verbally share with your child/children your intention to make a conscious effort from this point on and that their well-being is important to you. Don’t be afraid to really express yourself even if they may not grasp everything that you are saying. They’ll pick up on your sincerity regardless and that’s what matters.  

This is what I intend to share with my 17 month old toddler, but feel free to use and/or alter it if interested, or write your very own:

Dear Leo,

Every day you help me become a better person just by being yourself and bringing out the best and sometimes even the worst in me so that I become aware of it. Just like you, I make mistakes that require your patience, and sometimes even your forgiveness but I know that becoming aware of it is the first step in changing it. Sometimes it is difficult for me to fulfill both our needs but I am committed to making the effort, because we both deserve it. Know that I love you with my entire being and that from now on I will make the conscious effort to interact with you authentically.

Sincerely, Mommy

Please share how your child(ren) reacted to your pledge and how you felt about yourself afterwards in the follow up post next week!