A Pandemic-Parenting Note - Put On Your Own Mask First - January 22, 2021

​2021 has already been a long year, huh? I, along with millions of others, have been coping by practicing mindfulness. When the world around me feels chaotic, (and let’s be honest; life with young children is rather prone to chaos,) creating mindful moments is extremely helpful. When I say “mindfulness,” I just mean an awareness of my breath, and my thoughts. Taking on that Role of the Observer takes some practice but can give a frantic mind the space it needs to make different choices. It is perhaps a cliché to say that we need to put on our own metaphorical oxygen masks before we can help others, but it is entirely true. Our little ones are looking to us not only for care, but for examples of how to handle stress. They will pick up our habits, good or bad.