Supporting your child, being focused on them when you are interacting, and providing a loving, trusting relationship is the best way to help your child to build resilience. - Family Support, Hammersmith and Fulham

We were delighted to lead two Om:Pop Sessions with Family Support, Hammersmith and Fulham focused on the topic of “Serve and Return.” Our bespoke yoga, brain building and meditation sessions at Cathnor Park Children’s Centre and Melcombe Children’s Centre focused on integrating positive, back-and-forth interactions between caregivers and their little ones.

The second week of October brings us the theme of “Air Traffic Control” for our Om:Pop Series with Family Support, Hammersmith and Fulham and Bubble + Sprout. Our bespoke yoga, brain building and meditation session at Cathnor Children’s Centre focused on the brain’s executive function and self-regulatory skills.

We all experience stress. And while some stress can actually be positive, too much stress can negatively impact both our mental and physical wellbeing. The good news is that mindful awareness practices, such as yoga and meditation, can help calm our body's stress response.

We have leaped out of September and into October, continuing our Om:Pop Series with Family Support, Hammersmith and Fulham and Bubble + Sprout. It has been so wonderful being with families, as we bring bespoke mindfulness, yoga and brain building sessions to them. The theme for the first week at Cathnor Park Children’s Centre was “Stress Response.”

Cultivating self-love is a practice that takes patience and acceptance of our own vulnerability. The following brief meditation provides a platform to welcome in acceptance, recognition and love for our most vulnerable self.

The latest theme was “Brain Architecture,” where we began to think about ways in which we can help children to develop, by providing strong foundations and solid walls of positive experience and nurturing.

Our kids’ earliest experiences play an essential part in the construction of their brain architecture. It is at this stage that the foundation for lifelong physical and mental health is laid down. But what about the architecture of the parents’ brains? Can we still make structural changes or do some rewiring for our own wellbeing?

Being thankful is something that we want to instill in children from such an early age, always telling them to ‘say thank you’, even before they learn the meaning of the word they may say it, purely because it is expected of them. Is it more that we need to explain why we ask children to be thankful so they can truly learn the meaning of appreciation and gratitude?

We are thrilled to announce an expanded partnership with Family Support Hammersmith & Fulham, to bring a series of mindfulness sessions and bespoke family yoga classes to staff and families that will include brain-building activities. Family Support, backed by the H&F Council, has an incredible mission, which is to help families in Hammersmith & Fulham thrive.

When the kids don't want to brush their teeth before bed and we are tired and ready for me time, the easiest solution often seems to raise our voice and loose our cool. Or is it?

How about we first press our internal pause button and introduce some mindfulness into our interaction with the kids? It can really help us enjoy family time more by learning to respond to each other in a calmer more rational manner.

“Help! I think my child is crying wolf at bedtime by complaining about pain.” ~ Jen offers a mindful tip to help break this pattern and turn bedtime into a positive experience for children if they struggle with falling asleep.

Benefits of mindfulness include positive body image, learning how to have fun and learning how to be present.

Researchers, governments and individuals are increasingly reporting the benefits of engaging in mindful activities, such as yoga, with your child and family. These benefits can include: 1. Learning to be present and still together- the importance of taking a moment to relax. 2. Promoting exercise, positive body image and self-concept.

When you feel the need for something to calm your child’s (or your own!) body and mind, then trying these few poses, or even just one, can help you to relax and unwind. They are also a great way to calm your children in certain times of the day, such as bedtime, when a gentle way to lower their levels of physical and emotional arousal is greatly beneficial. 

The mental health of children is becoming an increasingly worrying topic which although being spoken about, I am evermore concerned with what is actually being done to support these children, or prevent them from developing these issues in the first place.  

In this revealing and emotional BBC Panorama, ‘Kids In Crisis’ takes us through the process that many children and families are having to go through.

Mindfulness activity for kids: We love this activity that Greg Graber, Director of SEL and Mindfulness at Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis provided to us called, "Teddy Bear Belly Breathing."

The aim of the tool is simple, it is about the way you use certain language which instantly takes blame away from your child and allows you model calm emotional responses through talking about how you feel.