In our concern for our children, sometimes we respond from a place of fear and worry. From time to time, we can even lose touch with the love that lies beneath that concern.

Reconnecting with the ground of our love and the wish for our children to be happy and well, especially in moments of difficulty, can be incredibly beneficial. This practice from Wendy O’Leary offers a pause of support and encouragement that can help you come back to that core of compassionate wisdom.

Wendy O’Leary, M.Ed., author and health educator, has three children’s books and an adult book on self-compassion in families. She is a certified mindfulness teacher, parent educator, and self-compassion advocate with expertise in teaching emotional resilience to children and adults. Her card deck for children titled "Let’s Grow Happiness," created in collaboration with her colleague Helen Maffini, is available for purchase at wendyoleary.com.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week.

Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app.

Show Notes

Find more from Wendy O’Leary here.

Go Deeper

For more resources to support mindful parenting, check out these resources on Mindful.org:

• Mindful Parenting Toolkit

• Shifting Habits: Three Mindful Parenting Tips You Can Try Today

• Mindful Parenting: Meet Your Inner Critic with Self-Compassion

• Manage Big Parenting Feelings Before They Manage You

For more practice with meditations to meet your worry, anxiety, fear, or other difficult emotions, try: 12-Minute Meditation: A Grounding Practice to Create Space in a Storm of Emotions

And more from Mindful here:

More episodes of 12 Minute Meditation

If you’d like to pre-order lifetime access to The Seven Strengths event recording, go to www.mindfulness.com/the-seven-strengths-hub to take advantage of our early bird pricing plus get a free bonus course from Melli O’Brien.

Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org.