Conscious Parenting Made Easier: Making the Most of Teachable Moments

As parents, it’s never easy to see our children in pain. If only we could impart confidence to the child who is crying out in fear, or empathy to the child who is throwing an angry fit. Unfortunately, the child who is in the throes of a meltdown because he doesn’t want to share a toy, or hyperventilating because it’s time to say goodbye to grandma is not having what educators call a “teachable moment.” They are in fight or flight mode, and the intensity of their emotional reaction is temporarily short-circuiting their brains. Any attempts we make to teach new concepts when our children are in an unteachable state are largely unproductive. Far more effective are moments when our kids are joyful, happy, and calm; these are ideal opportunities to reinforce empowering beliefs, affirming self-talk and similar techniques that will help them relocate their center when something has knocked them off balance.

The Enlightened Kid Program shows parents how to use teachable moments to instill within children fundamental, universal principles – knowing that they are valuable, that they were born with the power to create, and that joy is the very essence of who they are, for example – which are vital for their long term fulfillment and success. If we can support our kids in embodying these principles when they are in a joyous and connected state, they’ll be able to draw upon them in times when their connection is wavering – and whether we as parents are physically by their sides or not.