There are many ways to create a mindful home and maintain a healthy household. Eating right, exercise, and getting plenty of sleep help bodies get stronger. Finding ways to make taking care of everyone’s mental health a priority is also a key component of this equation. When the adults in the house are calm and confident, they can pass those good habits on to the kids. A mindful home is one that manages conflict well, has a positive routine, and communicates well. There are many ways to create a mindful home, and it will always be customized to the dynamics of the home; but there are some basic tenets and goals to set for creating a more mindful, and hopefully peaceful, environment to help everyone thrive.
Here’s a list of tips for encouraging positive, mindful habits in every member of the family:
- Have everyone – who is old enough – make their beds in the morning. Taking a few minutes to do something routine, simple, and productive helps wake up the body. It will mean one less thing to do closer to the time when people need to be rushing out the door. The bed will also be so much more inviting at the end of the day, with the sheets uncrumpled.
- Have universal quiet time. Blocking time out for everybody to go to their room and take the time to read, journal, or color gives everyone an opportunity to decompress. It also lets everyone do something they enjoy. Exercising creative energy is also healthy for growing minds.
- Reduce screen time. We all love our favorite programs, movies, and video games, but they can easily eat up time in the day; they also reduce time spent together, and the blue light can keep people awake longer than they want to be. Having set amounts of screen time for everyone helps spend more quality time together and reduces screen dependency.
- Create a quiet corner for the family to enjoy when they need it. Having a designated space in the home for people to go to relax, unwind, or calm down. One popular trend is to embrace Danish concepts of coziness and create a hygge corner, cute, with cozy pillows and blankets, fairy lights, and maybe a coaster for a hot beverage.
- Have family prayer or meditation time. Cultivating a time to focus on values, self-improvement, and big picture stuff gives kids space to ask questions in a safe way. It is also a place to teach them about focusing on the needs of others.
Mindfulness manifests in many ways. Each family has their own needs and their own preferences. Even beginning the process of creating a more mindful home is a great start!
By: Bethany Verrett