Breathe, Connect, Thrive: Mindfulness for Families in the New Year
By: Ida Piker, PsyD
For many families, 2024 was a year marked by a whirlwind of busy schedules, life transitions, social pressures, and the challenge of balancing work, school, and family responsibilities. Mindfulness practices are especially valuable for families at the start of the year as they help families strengthen connections with one another, manage stress, and stay grounded. As you reflect on your resolutions, goals, and dreams for the new year, take a moment to explore how you can incorporate mindfulness into your family time.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is the practice of bringing awareness to the present moment. It involves several key components.
Paying attention to your environment, thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations
Approaching your experiences without judgment, allowing yourself to acknowledge them without trying to change or avoid them
Focusing on the present moment without thinking about the past or worrying about the future
Mindfulness offers many benefits, including improved self-awareness, mental clarity, and better emotion regulation. It can also help children and parents improve their communication skills, develop patience, and create a serene environment where everyone feels heard and supported.
Why practice mindfulness with my family?
Incorporating mindfulness into family time can enhance relationships among family members, create a peaceful and supportive home environment, and improve the overall emotional well-being of the family unit. As you begin 2025, mindfulness can give your family a strong foundation to navigate challenges together. During particularly stressful times, such as conflicts between siblings, family members will have grounding, self-soothing, and communication skills to self-regulate.
Whole Family Mindfulness Practices
Nature Walks
Go for a walk around the neighborhood, a nearby park, or a new location. Rather than discussing upcoming events, like a soccer game, encourage your family to walk slowly and tune into the smells, sounds, and sights around them. Spending time outdoors is relaxing and a wonderful opportunity for everyone to connect with their surroundings and focus on the present moment.
Bonus idea: Incorporate a mindful scavenger hunt. You and your children can check off items as you find them. While searching, ask questions like, “What does that rock feel like?” and “What animal do you think made that sound?”
Family Journaling Time
Dedicate time each week for your family to gather, relax, and draw or write in their individual journals. Younger children or families with limited time can shorten their journal sessions to a few minutes. Set a timer for five to ten minutes. This practice supports self-reflection and provides a valuable outlet for expressing emotions and fostering creativity. Family members can choose to share their journal entries or keep them private.
Bonus idea: Create comic strip journals. Children and adults who enjoy comic books can use this format to express their thoughts and feelings.
Mindful Movement
Practice stretching, exercising, or yoga poses as a family. Take turns leading the activity or follow an audio or video guide. Model deep breathing for your children and encourage everyone to reflect on how they feel while transitioning from one stretch to another. Mindful movement fosters connection, improves physical flexibility, reduces stress, and encourages everyone to stay in the present moment.
Bonus idea: Create fun names for each pose, like ‘Meowing Cat.’
A Note on Being Non-Judgmental during Mindfulness
Often, approaching experiences without judgment can be one of the most difficult aspects of mindfulness. It can be challenging to recognize our thoughts and feelings as they arise, acknowledge them, and accept them without labeling them as “good” or “bad.” Frequently, our inner critic surfaces while practicing mindfulness, disrupting our efforts. Your inner critic may express thoughts like, “I am an awful artist,” “My writing is terrible,” or “I am not accomplishing enough.”
What can we do when this happens?
Start by setting the intention to practice mindfulness without judgment. Pay attention to when you are assessing your thoughts and assigning them value. You may find yourself thinking, “What a strange thought,” or “I lack balance.” When this happens, apply one of the following skills.
Mantras or Affirmations
Mantras or affirmations can consist of a single word, like “Breathe,” or a phrase, such as “I can do this,” which can be said silently or aloud. These statements are effective in shifting thoughts and behaviors. During mindfulness exercises, you might notice yourself or someone else beginning to have judgmental thoughts. For instance, if your child criticizes himself while coloring mindfully and says, “I am so bad at coloring inside the lines,” you can guide him back to mindfulness by coming up with a mantra together. Mantras that may be helpful for him include “I am enough,” “I love myself,” “I am creative,” or “I don’t have to do this perfectly.” The next time he colors mindfully, he will have a chosen mantra ready to refocus his attention on his mindfulness practice. Mantras and affirmations can help promote relaxation, reduce stress, shift your perspective, enhance focus, and boost self-confidence.
Radical Acceptance
Radical acceptance aims to embrace the reality of a situation without resistance. Instead of focusing on what should have been or what could have happened, you reframe the situation by accepting it entirely. This approach is beneficial for thoughts and feelings that are unlikely to change. Avoiding reality may result in bitterness, resentment, shame, or other painful emotions. When we engage in radical acceptance, we accept that we do not need to agree with the circumstances. For example, if you feel physically inflexible while participating in movement activities with your family, rather than telling yourself, “I should be more flexible at my age,” you can practice radical acceptance by acknowledging, “This is how far my body can stretch today. I will participate within the limits of my body.”
Self-compassion
Self-compassion is beneficial for those who tend to be self-critical. Practicing self-compassion means treating ourselves kindly despite our imperfections. To begin, notice your critical feelings or thoughts as they arise. For example, while on a nature walk with your dog, if you feel anger toward yourself because you are out of breath, acknowledge that such feelings are common and that others experience them as well. Struggling is a normal aspect of life, and you are not alone in this feeling. Allow yourself permission to be kind to yourself. Consider asking yourself, “What is something I can say that would grant me permission to be compassionate?” Perhaps you can ask yourself, “Can I forgive myself?”
By adopting these mindfulness practices, you can help your family breathe, connect, and thrive in the new year.
