CONSCIOUS PARENTING
LEARNING POINTS AND EXERCISES FOR REINFORCEMENT
1. Mind/Body/Emotional Awareness. Talk about
the mind/body/emoitonal connection yourself
in a practical way. “When I was fixing supper I
felt good feelings about what I was doing for
the family. My thoughts were happy and my
body felt energetic. I felt angry feelings when
you left your dirty sox in the living room. There
were tight knots and tension in my chest. My
thoughts were upset with you.”
2. Simple Questions. Have your child talk
specifically about one of the three partners.
Use a leading question. “You look like you have
tight knots of tension in your shoulders right
now. What kind of thoughts are you having?”
After reply, ask where child feels tight knots
in the body. Keep trying to use these kinds of
examples whenever possible.
3. Watch Others in Non-judgmental Way. If you and
your child are together and you ask someone,
“How are you?” and the person answers,
“Fine.” but looks terrible, talk about that with
your child. Ask his/her opinion. Use examples
in talking about person’s tone of voice, body
language, eye contact, etc. “I think maybe
Robert was not feeling very good. His eyes were
tired and he walked slowly.”
• Singing Reinforcement. Create a tune to the
following jingle or just recite it in a fun voice
and help child to memorize it. If you march
with it or have special gestures with hands,
face and feet, your child will remember it
easily.
Mind/Body/Feelings Jingle
My mind, my body, my feelings are friends.
They work together from beginning to end.
And that’s the way it’s always been!
• Body Outlines. Have child look at, color and
talk about the different outlines. Be sure
to post their coloring on the refrigerator or
bulletin board for ongoing reinforcement.
• Sad/Happy Experiment. Have child close
eyes and remember something sad and feel
it. Point out for child to notice where it is felt
in the body and how the body is breathing,
what the thoughts are like. Then tell child
to think of something happy. FEEL it. Notice
thoughts, how the body changes breathing
pattern and where it is felt in the body. Tell
child to open eyes and then discuss the
experience. You can join in and share your
experience, too.
COMPLETE THE LEARNING CYCLE
• Toy Usage. Find a toy that comes apart – a doll
or robot that can have its head unscrewed,
arms taken off, etc. Ask child to compare it to
body outlines and d