Finding a Space to Be In a World of To Do
An inspirational guide for busy parents who want to better understand the automatic ways in which they can react to stressful situations, balance the `doing' and `being' modes in their everyday lives, and move from instinctive to more mindful responses.
Sometimes being a parent seems like one long to-do list: taking the children to and from school and clubs, arranging babysitters, feeding them and putting them to bed. Parents can feel trapped in a straitjacket of tasks, all of which prevent them spending quality time with their children. Susan Boegels has developed and delivered training on this subject for over twenty years. Now, for the first time, she shares her expertise, along with her experiences as a mother and child, with a general audience. In a series of accessible chapters, she shows how we can find a balance between "doing" and "being" modes when interacting with our children. She also explains how to deal with stress, conflict and guilt, and how to cultivate conscious, unbiased attention in a simple way. Together, the chapters form an 11-week course in mindful parenting, supported by simple exercises and guided audio meditations.