Mindful Minutes Month

Our 30 days of Mindful Minutes finished last week so we thought we would share the highs and lows.Just to recap the reason we decided to create this Mindful Minutes challenge mainly was to see the impact it had for our kids particularly in relation to behaviour but also because we know ourselves that when we make time to be present and engage with our kids giving them our full attention they really do thrive.The first couple of days were actually really rewarding for us as the parents. Creating activities was exciting and we had set our mindset that these 10 minutes were completely distraction free to focus completely on the kids which meant that we were calm and prepared for things to go sideways as they always do with young kids.Our first game was a hiding game where we had 6 balloons outside and everyone else had to find them. Well as expected our kids were having a ball until they started to get competitive. The bickering began but we managed to calm them both quickly because we ourselves were having fun and in a calm and fun mood.The first week was a bit of an adjustment period where we were trying to find the best time that worked in with our routine. We found that evenings worked best for us, either before dinner if it was an energetic game or after showers for something more simple like a card game. After the first week, the kids began asking us what our activity for mindful minutes would be and one thing that became apparent was that on days where I hadn't thought of the activity , I always felt more stressed and tended to just choose an activity we had already done.I definitely think that having some activities preplanned at the start of the week would have helped it feel less rushed.I also found that having a timer on was a necessity. We set it for 10 minutes and even though sometimes we went over we explained to the kids that the 10 minute timer was for  zero interruptions. After that sometimes things had to be done like stacking the dishwasher etcOne thing which became bvery apparent after the second week was that our kids were able to do amazing independent play if we had to do something once the timer was up. They were quite happy to keep playing the activity together or they went off and did something they enjoyed themselves like colouring or connectix.The third week we had got into a bit of a rhythm and actually let the kids choose or make up games themselves that we would all play. A lot of the time the rules didn't make sense but they actually ended up being some of our favourites. I think mainly because the sibling who decided on the game was feeling empowered and excited so rather than being competitive they were a lot more encouraging of everyone and complimentary.All in all this is something that has become a really enjoyable time for our family and we will continue to do it, hopefully it becomes something that feels effortless, but it certainly feels fulfilling even if it does take that little bit of organising.Also as much as I constantly hear myself say 'we don't have any time' we always made 10 minutes and they were often my favourite because I spend the day  running around like a mad person, multitasking, the mindful minutes gave my head a chance to reset and take in the beautiful smiles on my kids faces and the sweet sound of their laughter.
10 mindful minutes a day. Highly recommend for any mama who wants to be more present with their little loves.
Xx

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