Mindful, Aware Parenting: The Pathway to Raising Emotionally Regulated Children

To address several key elements in raising emotionally regulated children, this paper reviews existing literature on social-emotional skills and traits essential for children’s development, including emotional intelligence and self-regulatory skills as well as morality, compassion, and kindness. Parents play a crucial role in helping these skills to evolve, beginning with parental self-awareness and the ability to review how early experiences shape current practices. The research presented examines key parental competencies, styles, and practices influential in the process of raising emotionally regulated children. The practice of mindfulness by parents is considered, and evidence suggests, that it can be foundational in developing self-awareness and the ability to parent with a non-judgmental presence. Parents are a child’s first teachers; as such, their influence on outcomes for children is critical. The parent education portion of this thesis aims to help parents develop the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the parenting journey with the confidence and direction needed to raise emotionally regulated children