Renée Peterson Trudeau, the author of
Nurturing the Soul of Your Family and
The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal, offers these suggestions for soulful parenting:
Parent from the inside-out. “Decide what three qualities are most important to your family during these difficult times and then orient your decision around those values. When it comes to decisions such as whether to send your children back to a classroom, don’t let the media, extended family, friends or others dictate what you should or shouldn’t do. Pause, reflect, go inward and connect with your own internal GPS and you won’t go wrong.”
Start the day intentionally. “How you begin your day is how you do your day. A few minutes of meditation, journaling, voicing gratitudes or simply reflecting on how you want to be during the day has an enormous impact on how we parent and show up for others.”
Attend to self-care. “We are constantly relating and parenting from our current state of being. Taking time to attune and respond to our own needs and desires helps us cultivate a more wise and grounded presence. Self-care is not about adding something to your to-do list; it’s about cultivating a new way of being with ourselves—a kinder, more compassionate way.”
Be creative about healthy family food. “Food is medicine, and food choices have an enormous impact on our mood, energy levels and ability to weather stress. That said, be easy on yourself—these are challenging times. Try making meals with your kids, growing your own food as a family and engaging your kids in food-based creative projects like canning or baking bread.”