ourmindfulchildren

“They said I couldn’t change the world; it wasn’t worth the fight. But in my head, a small voice said...maybe you might.”

A young girl makes a choice to plant a seed by a long dead riverbed. Little does she know that from this single, small act, a vibrant ecosystem will grow. This inspiring poem, bursting with hope, shows us that even when the future appears most bleak, each one of us can make a difference.

This gorgeous book shimmers with hope and possibilities. Narrated in beautiful, uplifting, lyrical verse by the child, this lovely book is about the glorious fulfillment of hope and supports the idea that one small person might change the world.

This book is a beautiful keepsake to pass down through generations.

www.ourmindfulchildren.com

In the digital world that we live in now, it has never been more important to provide our children with a source of safe and accurate information to help them navigate the transition into the teenage years, and all that comes with it.

After buying and sampling lots of resources, I have now carefully curated a small collection of books for older children and adolescents. This collection is designed to help our children understand the mental and physical changes that occur with puberty, as well as discussing important topics such as consent (including laws around consent and s*xting), body image, online safety, s*xual health, recognising and forming healthy relationships, and much more.

Although this collection is designed for tweens and teens, it’s always a good idea as the parent to familiarise yourself with the content too in order to answer any questions that your child may have.

www.ourmindfulchildren.com
*Free click + collect from FY8 for local customers*

What an empowering order. Our tweens and teens guides to just about everything are great resources for your children ages approximately 9-14. Really easy to read and dip in and out off and cover all sorts of relevant topics including but not exhaustive of body image, consent, wellbeing, hygiene, stress, physical and emotional changes, bullying, sleep and life online.

They are a must have to support parents help their tweens and teens to navigate adolescence with safe and accurate information.

As adults, we’re constantly asking children what they want to be when they grow up but forget to ask them who they want to be. The ‘Character Matters’ Flashcards have been created to shift the emphasis from ‘what’ to ‘who’ so that we can teach children about developing their character first and foremost. After all, character development is foundational for personal growth and professional growth, building solid relationships, and lifelong learning.

As children practise skills that promote character development, they build a reservoir of strength that they can draw on throughout their lives. Confidence, determination, resilience, and honesty are some examples of traits that can assist children at home, at school, and out in the big world.

www.ourmindfulchildren.com

www.ourmindfulchildren.com

A little reminder for the teenagers in your lives ♥︎

This collection is designed to help our children understand and navigate the mental and physical changes that occur with puberty, as well as discussing important topics such as consent (including laws around consent and s*xting), body image, online safety, s*xual health, recognising and forming healthy relationships, and much more.

https://ourmindfulchildren.com/collections/empowering-tweens-teens

A little encouragement for you, me and our children 🤍

Such a gorgeous festive book full of colour and culture! It makes a lovely Christmas gift for children of all ages 🎄🌍

💪🏼

www.ourmindfulchildren.com

Wouldn’t it be amazing if our children were taught to prioritise their safety boundaries over their parent’s or carer’s need for them to appear polite?

#

9 out of 10 girls in England and Wales reported that having unsolicited images sent to them happens a lot or sometimes.

79% of girls reported s*x assault of any kind happens a lot or sometimes in their peer group

68% of girls reported feeling pressured to do s3xual things that they did not want to do

(Ofsted, 2021).

By educating ourselves and by equipping our children with the knowledge and skills to
1. help keep themselves safe and 2. to respect the boundaries and feelings of others, as parents we can help to change these statistics for our children.

♡

A nice little lesson for our children ✨

In the digital world that we live in now, it has never been more important to provide our children with a source of safe and accurate information to help them navigate the transition into the teenage years, and all that comes with it.

If you haven’t spied the new collection on www.ourmindfulchildren.com yet, it contains a small collection of carefully curated resources aimed at empowering and supporting the well-being of tweens and teens.

Our Mindful Christmas 🎄

Give your child a gift with a difference this Christmas, and watch them thrive in the new year.

Head to www.ourmindfulchildren.com (link in bio) to invest in your child’s wellbeing this festive season.

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In the digital world that we live in now, it has never been more important to provide our children with a source of safe and accurate information to help them navigate the transition into the teenage years, and all that comes with it.

After buying and sampling lots of resources, I have now carefully curated a small collection of books for older children and adolescents. This collection is designed to help our children understand the mental and physical changes that occur with puberty, as well as discussing important topics such as consent (including laws around consent and s*xting), body image, online safety, s*xual health, recognising and forming healthy relationships, and much more.

Although this collection is designed for tweens and teens, it's always a good idea as the parent to familiarise yourself with the content too in order to answer any questions that your child may have.

Let’s look at a few ways that we can set the foundation now, so that those conversations are easier when our children are older….

1. Educate yourself around different topics so that you can give them honest and accurate information

2. Prepare how you would to respond to certain questions from your child at different ages. REMEMBER if your young child asks you a question out of the blue and you’re ready for it, just breathe and try not show a shocked reaction. Take a moment, and say something like this - “that’s a good question, I’m not too sure how to answer that in this moment whilst I’m concentrating on driving etc.., and I want to make sure that I give you the right information. Could you give mummy a few hours to look into it and after tea we’ll set aside a bit of time for me to answer you properly?“

3. Always validate their feelings. They will feel heard and are more likely to come to you when they are upset or uncomfortable about something.

4. Something I know I always bang on about is the importance of using the proper names for private parts from day 1. The moment we start using pet names for private parts is the moment your child will start to associate them with embarrassment and shame, and the therefore the less likely they will come you with any questions.

I stock a wonderful book called ‘Your Whole Body’ aimed at 2-6 year olds, which assists parents to naturally teach your children the proper names for their private parts (I have tagged the book in the first carousel image if you’ like to find out more about it).

My tweens and teens collection also will be launching next week and will provide a great source of safe and accurate knowledge for those with older children heading towards, or already in adolescence.

*xualhealth

On World Mental Health Day, perhaps we could take a moment with our children to discuss all the ways we could be the difference, and make someone’s day.

Perhaps your child could make an effort to sit and talk with someone in their class who is often on their own.

Perhaps they be an up-stander and step in to call someone out for bullying behaviour.

Perhaps they could give someone self-conscious a compliment.

Perhaps they could come up with their own idea.

I’d really love to hear what they come up with and how they felt when they’d performed their little act of kindness.

Share the lovely ideas in the comments below and maybe we can create a kindness activity list for our children to work through in the coming days 💕

New in!

Colour your way across the globe with the Colours of the World Crayola collection.

Visit famous landmarks and make new friends in more than 20 countries in the new Crayola Colouring Book. Paired with the colouring crayons, this collection provides a wonderful way for children to celebrate the people and places that make up this rich, culturally diverse world of ours, and ultimately to help raise children who are friends with the whole human race 💕 🌍

Sleepover safety…

The first things to consider are around your child:
- Does your child actually really want to go and are they ready/mature enough to go.
- Do they have a good understanding of the family safety rules.
- Is your child aware of exit strategies they can use if they feel at all uncomfortable or unsafe, or are just homesick and want to come home?

Secondly, as parents, we need to consider where they are going, and who they are staying with. It is important to have an in-depth conversation with the parents of the other child to determine the following:
- What is the plan for sleepover? For example, are they going to be playing, are they going to be watching a film (if so which films will they watching), will they be going anywhere, and if so who will be driving? Do they have a ‘doors stay open’ policy for when children are playing in the house?
- Will there be any unsupervised access to the internet? If your child’s friend has older siblings, do their siblings have unsupervised access to the internet?
- Who will be in the house during the time your child will be there? And who is responsible for supervision?

These lists of considerations are by no means exhaustive, but give you a basic starting point when it comes to determining whether or not you are comfortable or not, in this particular instance, with your child going on this sleepover. Remember as parents, it is also important for us to listen to our own early warning signs (our gut instincts) in helping us make these decisions. It is all about helping to keep our children safe, but also supporting them to have a good time.

One of my favourites 💕 📖 🌍

Barefoot Books Children of the World depicts kids of a wide range of shapes, sizes, races, abilities and lifestyles from countries and cultures all over the world. From enjoying special days to trying on silly hats, this award-winning picture book celebrates the big ideas and everyday moments that all children share.

A simple narrative and stunning hand-painted illustrations invite both small children and independent readers to think about their own experiences while providing a window into the experiences of others.

At the end, 15 pages of notes explain the detailed illustrations, encouraging meaningful conversations about diversity and inclusion. Older children will be empowered to explore these important issues on their own.

- Gold Medal Winner, Moonbeam Awards, 2016
- Brain Child Award Winner, Tillywig Toy & Media Awards, 2016
- Silver Award for Juvenile Nonfiction, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award, 2016
- Featured on The Today Show, 2016
- Children’s Nonfiction Picture Book Gold Winner, NAPRA Nautilus Awards, 2017
- Multicultural Book of the Month, Colours of Us Blog, 2016
- Books That Bring People Together, School Library Journal, 2018

Media Reviews

“[Children of the World] takes its readers on a visual trek across the globe, where they discover that — despite our different clothes and homes and languages — we are more alike than different” — Caryl Stern, President & CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF

“A wonderful resource for igniting a spirit of wonder, appreciation, and belonging in children representing a beautiful variety of geographic places, cultures, and experiences” – Daydreamers Press

“An ambitious book that succeeds in capturing all manner of diversity of the human species” – Booklist Review

One of my favourites 🥰📖🌎

Children of the World depicts kids of a wide range of shapes, sizes, races, abilities and lifestyles from countries and cultures all over the world. From enjoying special days to trying on silly hats, this award-winning picture book celebrates the big ideas and everyday moments that all children share.

A simple narrative and stunning hand-painted illustrations invite both small children and independent readers to think about their own experiences while providing a window into the experiences of others.

At the end, 15 pages of notes explain the detailed illustrations, encouraging meaningful conversations about diversity and inclusion. Older children will be empowered to explore these important issues on their own.

Awards and Accolades:

- Gold Medal Winner, Moonbeam Awards, 2016
- Brain Child Award Winner, Tillywig Toy & Media Awards, 2016
- Silver Award for Juvenile Nonfiction, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award, 2016
- Featured on The Today Show, 2016
- Children’s Nonfiction Picture Book Gold Winner, NAPRA Nautilus Awards, 2017
- Multicultural Book of the Month, Colours of Us Blog, 2016
- Books That Bring People Together, School Library Journal, 2018
- 111 of Our Favorite Kids Books in 2021, PBS, 2021


Media Reviews

"[Children of the World] takes its readers on a visual trek across the globe, where they discover that — despite our different clothes and homes and languages — we are more alike than different" — Caryl Stern, President & CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF

"A wonderful resource for igniting a spirit of wonder, appreciation, and belonging in children representing a beautiful variety of geographic places, cultures, and experiences" – Daydreamers Press

"An ambitious book that succeeds in capturing all manner of diversity of the human species" – Booklist Review

Empowering our tweens and teens…

The resources that I have carefully curated for this tweens and teens collection will not only cover important topics such as s3x education, consent, healthy relationships,
online safety and well-being, but will also cover topics including, but not exhaustive of:
- the physical and emotional changes associated with puberty
- menstrual literacy
- bullying
- peer pressure
- dealing with the stress and pressures of education
- body image
- the importance of sleep in the teenage years, and sleep hygiene advice.

*xualharassment *xy *xedforall *xeducationmatters *xeducati̇on *xed *xualhealth