healthykids
Teaching mindfulness and
stress reduction to children is a start; however, teaching parents and grandparents is important, too.
~Patricia Salem
The Joys of Grandparenting How to Mindfully Love Little Ones by April Thompson
B
eing a grandparent can be magi- cal; an opportunity to create both lifelong memories and formative
experiences for grandchildren. Howev- er, it can also pose challenges that need to be managed mindfully, say experts. For more than 25 years, Patricia Salem, of Louisville, Kentucky, a licensed and board-certified art therapist, has taught mindfulness practices and art therapy in such diverse settings as hos- pitals and schools. Aiming to help kids and adults learn to harmoniously ease life’s challenges, her work across genera- tions has led her to seek ways to support entire family systems on their individual and familial journey to more mindful
living. Her classes focus on skills like cultivating awareness, communication, self-compassion and self-care. “Teaching mindfulness and stress
reduction to children is a start; howev- er, teaching parents and grandparents is important, too. Children need reinforce- ment at home for practices they are learning in order for them to take hold,” says Salem. Carolyn Tucker, a psychotherapist
in Atlanta, started offering classes on mindful grandparenting six years ago after witnessing a rise in grandparents seeking therapy. “In working with new mothers, I’ve found that a common area of friction is too little or too much
support from grandparents. I thought it wise to help prepare them,” says Tucker. She helps grandparents develop realistic expectations of their role. “It’s easy to revert to what you know—the parenting role—so it’s important to set mindful intentions,” she observes. Tucker encourages grandparents to make mindful memories during time spent with the grandchildren. “You can find joy by being still and marveling at a grandchild’s beautiful little hands and dimpled knees while registering how the air in the room feels to create a vivid mental snapshot of the moment. “Parents and kids can become too
busy, and grandparents can help them slow down. Lie on the grass together and look at cloud shapes or blow a dandelion. To me, that is the romance of grandparenting, and mindfulness allows the romance to blossom,” she says. Susan Moon, a Berkeley, California,
author and grandmother who has practiced Zen Buddhism for nearly 40 years, sees grandparenting as an opportunity to release expectations; this feat can be difficult for parents caught up in their youngsters’ identities. “It’s easier for grandparents to accept grandkids for who they are and just be joyful with them. They get to be in the moment with the kids without wor-
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