M is for Mindfulness

Mind Full or Mindful?

We can’t think of a more apt subject matter in these challenging times. Mindfulness offers a plethora of benefits, helping to lower anxiety and stress, boosting positivity, teaching us how to manage our emotions, and improving self-esteem and self-control. In fact, the advantages for our mental wellbeing are so great, that many companies, big and small, encourage their staff to practice mindfulness and so too, a lot of schools run their own programmes which is great because if we can instil these skills in our children from a young age they will be better able to traverse life’s lumps and bumps. What’s more, it can take as little as a minute to practice mindfulness and create what is often called that ‘magic moment’, bringing our minds back to our bodies, our breath and the present. Some of our favourite small businesses have mindfulness at their very heart and are perfect for helping kids (and ourselves!) to navigate the current hurdle life has thrown at us all! Read on to see who they are..

Suzy Reading

We cannot sing the praises of the lovely Suzy Reading highly enough! If ever we are in need of a boost then we just hop on over to her Instagram. She always seems to know just the right thing to say at the right time! A Chartered Psychologist, specialising in wellbeing and stress management, mindfulness is at the very root of her work which seeks to empower families and especially frazzled mums and kids, to feel calmer, more positive, and better able to manage their emotions, by equipping them with the resilience and coping skills required to deal with whatever life throws at them (and it’s a lot right now!). She has also penned a range of books which we can’t recommend enough. In particular, families should check out Stand Tall Like A Mountain and Suzy’s new book, This Book Will (Help) Make You Happy. Do check out our Stib Meets interview with Suzy here and her guest blog on selfcare for kids here. You can follow Suzy on Instagram here.

MindUp

Created by none other than Hollywood legend, Goldie Hawn, the MindUp programme is designed to empower children using mindful practice helping them to thrive in school, work and life. Some you may already have heard of it since it already runs outreach programmes in many of our schools. Based on neuroscience and mindful practice, MindUp equips children with the skills and knowledge they need to regulate their stress and emotion, form positive relationships, and act with kindness and compassion. From mindful listening, seeing, hearing smelling, tasting and movement, there are a host of videos available to watch for free on the website – perfect for adding a little light relief to your home-schooling schedule and helping foster our children’s emotional bandwidth when they most need it! www.mindup.org

Mindful Monsters

Meet Snug, Thinky, Sparky and Giggles – four monsters here to help children prepare themselves for life’s ups and downs, develop coping mechanisms and build emotional resilience. Focusing on four key areas - boosting creativity, improving concentration, inspiring positivity and aiding relaxation, the activity cards provide a great way for the whole family to explore mindfulness, while making spending quality time together easy rather than just another thing on the to do list. Every month you receive a new set of cards plus stickers to reward your child after each activity and card holders which can be personalised. The brand also supports the disability equality charity, Scope. www.mindfulmonsters.co.uk

Fearless Flamingo

Nurture a little bit of positivity everyday with these empowering, feel-good prints and products which help children encourage mindful thinking about how they feel. Illustrator and mum of three, Charlie, started the brand back in 2017 after watching her own children try to make sense of their feelings and emotions. We particularly love the Alphabet of Emotions Print – the brands first launch, and still a bestseller. There are also mindfulness flash cards designed to inspire conversations and colouring postcards – perfect paired with a pack of Stib pencils we think! www.fearlessflamingo.com

The Positive Doodle Diary

This is the second appearance in our A-Z of brands we love series for The Positive Doodle Diary but we just couldn’t write a blog about mindfulness and not include them plus we do love them so! This mindful gratitude journal is designed to empower kids with confidence through creativity, self-expression and you’ve guessed it, mindfulness. Through daily doodling and simple journaling, it’s packed full of activities which will lead children to explore the themes of confidence, resilience, kindness and self-care! https://www.thepositiveplanners.com/product/the-positive-doodle-diary/

Relax Kids

Relax Kids uses research-based mindful and relaxation techniques alongside values and positive psychology (positivity, strength building, gratitude, resilience and compassion) to help support children’s emotional health and wellbeing. As well as offering a broad range of classes for schools, mums-to-be, babies, toddlers and families they also have a great shop featuring books, affirmation cards, MP3 albums, CDs (perfect for in the car), stickers and posters. We particularly like The Magic Box full of mindful meditations. www.relaxkids.com

Mindful Kin

We love these mindfulness activity cards written by mum to two, Sal Gould, promoting mindfulness for kids and the whole family The range includes a variety of packs from mindful activities to cues to spark conversations and animal message cards to help parents connect with their child. But our favourite has to be Sal’s handmade Worry Stones. Perfect for popping into pockets for reassurance at uncertain times or keeping on bedside tables, they are a great way to ground ourselves when we’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed while providing a gentle reminder to take a few deep breaths! Beware, they are extremely popular and sell out fast! https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MindfulKin