30 Days to More Mindful Parenting

There truly is no handbook when it comes to parenting. Many people (hundreds? thousands?) have written books, blog posts, dissertations on how to parent the “right” way. I will save you the hassle of wondering if this journal is the Best Parenting Workbook Ever and instead tell you this: these are the questions I ask myself over and over when I’m parenting.

When my son is crying because he didn’t get the red spoon. When my daughter is rolling her eyes at me and telling me I talk too much. When I’m putting them to bed and they are simply not tired, so we have a high-five battle instead. When their school calls me to tell me they’re so impressed with how inclusive my son is and how empathetic my daughter is. When they insist on leaving the house wearing zombie face paint in May. When my son proudly proclaims, “This is my body, and no one can make me do anything with it that I don’t want to do!” When my daughter responds to a boy who likes her: “You can’t just TELL me I’m your girlfriend. I get to decide that.”

When I find myself in a situation where I can try to over-power them and force them to do things my way, or I can partner with them and teach them new skills (but damn, the over-powering can be so tempting). When my own ego is in the way. When I’m completely lost in parenting and need to remind myself… Why did I choose to do it this way?

This journal won’t fix everything, but it WILL bring you to a better relationship with yourself. And that is the most important part of parenting. The intimacy you have with yourself, your ability to hold space for yourself, and the way you understand yourself… those will be what makes all the difference.

These daily prompts shouldn’t take longer than 15 minutes to complete. They are designed to challenge you in a way that leaves you feeling more self-aware, more self-assured, and more ready to handle parenting. Changing the way you parent isn’t about changing your child–it’s about knowing yourself and building your skills up enough so that you can be the parent your child needs.