Hello friends,
I just finished taking the six-week, self-paced Parent-Child Mindfulness and Self-Compassion class with my neighbor, Dee, and it feels both sweet and tender.
I invited my nine-year-old neighbor to take the class with me for 2 reasons:
- She struggles with anxiety.
- I was curious how it would be to take the parent-child class asynchronously with a child.
And six weeks later, the answer is clear: Both Dee and I really enjoyed taking the course together. In fact, I really liked taking the course using pre-recorded videos for a few reasons:
- It was relaxing for me to take the class because the videos did the teaching. So I just got to relax and be a co-learner with Dee.
- When we shared ups and downs with each other or checked in with each other about class content, we could pause the video for just the right amount of time for our sharing.
- I was able to set up a space in my office for Dee and I to take the class at a relaxing time on the weekend that worked for our schedules.
Dee enjoyed coloring a mandala during our sessions together and having a little snack midway through each class. I also kept my Super Snuggles on hand so that I could comfort Dee with my little animal if she shared something hard.
What delighted and surprised me most was how much closer we felt over time. During session four, Dee and I did a kind wishes practice, and we were instructed to choose a person or animal that we cared about for the exercise. In my mind, I chose Dee, and when I asked Dee who she had chosen to imagine, she said me. It was truly a moment of connection!
If you’d like to try the Kind Wishes practice that created that moment of connection for us, you can find a short, child-friendly version on my meditations page. It’s something you can do in just a few minutes, together or on your own.
It is common for parents and kids to share that they feel more connected after taking my parent-child class. In our research, families often describe a deepening sense of closeness through shared practice.
Here are few reflections from Dee and me about the class:
Quotes from Dee: “I just liked it… It gave me compassion [for myself]. Now I do cookie breathing and playful stretching.”
“It made me realize how powerful this class is for helping grown-ups and kids grow closer together.” -Jamie Lynn Tatera
If you’d like to explore mindfulness and self-compassion with a child in your life, the Parent-Child Mindfulness and Self-Compassion class is available in a self-paced format. Families can move through the practices together at their own rhythm, pausing, coloring, and sharing in ways that fit real life…just like Dee and I did.
And if you’re an educator, therapist, or caregiver who feels called to share these playful, research-based practices with more kids, my teacher training offers a deeper pathway into this work.
Together we can help mindfulness and self-compassion reach every child, one playful moment at a time.
Wishing you and the children in your life the gifts of mindfulness and self-compassion.
Warmly,
Jamie Lynn
P.S. A group of kids (including my two daughters) helped create a short play called Snuggles Stayed Close. This photo was taken during rehearsals, when the kids decided part of the play needed to happen up in a tree.
