10 Mindful Minutes: Giving Our Children--and Ourselves--the Social and Emotional Skills to Reduce St ress and Anxiety for Healthier, Happy Lives

by Goldie Hawn, Wendy Holden, Daniel J. Siegel M.D. (Foreword by)

Overview

Teaching Our Children to Help Themselves Be Happy

Practical, timely, relevant, and inspiring, 10 Mindful Minutes is Goldie Hawn’s gift to parents who want to help their children learn better and live happier lives.

Inspired by the revolutionary MindUP program (developed under the auspices of the Hawn Foundation), the book offers easy-to-grasp insights from current behavioral, psychological, and neurological studies to show how our thoughts, emotions, and actions—including our ability to focus, manage stress, and learn—are all exquisitely interconnected.

Hawn presents simple and practial ways to develop mindfulness in children and parents alike, and shares her own heartfelt experiences with the challenges and joys of parenting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399537721
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/25/2012
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	497,269
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Goldie Hawn is the founder of the Hawn Foundation, as well as an international children’s advocate and enthusiastic campaigner for the mindful celebration of life. An Academy Award–winning actress, producer, and director, she is also a mother and grandmother.

Table of Contents

Foreword Daniel J. Siegel xi

One Mother's Journey to Mindfulness xvii

1 Why we Need to Act Now 1

2 The Wonders of the Brain 6

3 How the Brain Works 11

4 Getting the Most out of this Book 35

5 Tuning in to your Child's Wavelength 42

6 Talking with your Child About the Brain 52

7 Mindful Breathing 60

8 Mindful Sensing 74

9 Optimism 103

10 Happiness 116

11 Gratitude 126

12 Anger 134

13 Sadness 142

14 Fear 154

15 Empathy 162

16 Kindness 177

17 Living a More Mindful Life 184

Glossary 195

References 199

Bibliography 203

Acknowledgments 207

Index 209

Editorial Reviews

"Hawn's gentle, heartfelt approach to mothering and her mission to help children develop happier, healthier lives will be both useful and inspiring for parents."— Publishers Weekly

"Goldie Hawn embodies delight and joy, and 10 Mindful Minutes radiates these. Her book can help any adult – parent, grandparent, teacher – make double use of their moments with the children they love and have a terrific time while helping shape that child’s brain for a lifetime of resilience and happiness."— Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

“An excellent guide that offers simple, effective ways for stressed parents to create calmer, kinder, happier families.”  — Deirdre Donahue, USA Today

“This is a remarkable book. It is full of wisdom for us all—parents and other caregivers—inviting us to taste mindfulness for ourselves.” — Mark Williams, director of the University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre

From the Publisher

An excellent guide that offers simple, effective ways for stressed parents to create calmer, kinder, happier families.”

Deirdre Donahue

This is a remarkable book. It is full of wisdom for us all—parents and other caregivers—inviting us to taste mindfulness for ourselves.”

Mark Williams

"Goldie Hawn embodies delight and joy, and 10 Mindful Minutes radiates these. Her book can help any adult – parent, grandparent, teacher – make double use of their moments with the children they love and have a terrific time while helping shape that child’s brain for a lifetime of resilience and happiness."

Daniel Goleman

Hollywood icon Hawn is a mother of four and a grandmother whose Hawn Foundation supports the MindUP program in schools in the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain. Here, she collaborates with writer Holden to present elements of the program that parents can use in daily life with kids. The authors explain that mindfulness helps children develop social and emotional intelligence, resulting in greater awareness, less stress, and higher levels of happiness and empathy. Developed by brain experts, the program also helps children use their senses to hone their brain muscles; in a chapter called "Mindful Sensing," Hawn covers mindful listening, seeing, smelling, tasting, and movement with suggested activities appropriate for various ages to accompany each sense. Hawn explains how to help children use mindful breathing (she calls it her "secret sauce") to become more reflective and self aware, and gain emotional control. The practice, she asserts, requires only three minutes a day to create positive change. It also helps kids sleep better and manage stress and/or anger, among other benefits. In "Reflections" throughout the text, Hawn looks back on her own childhood and shares her personal experiences as a mother. Hawn's gentle, heartfelt approach to mothering and her mission to help children develop happier, healthier lives will be both useful and inspiring for parents. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"I saw how quickly the kids-and then the teachers-bought into the [MindUP] program and practices. The kids just got it right away, and seemed hungry for something that would help them manage the stresses in their life. . . . In my twenty years of measuring social-emotional learning quotients, I've never seen a program that works as well as this one."

Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl

The beauty of both of these books is that they help readers relieve stressful situations with simple, tailor-made exercises. The difference is in their intended audiences: licensed psychotherapist Bush writes for adults, and actor Hawn writes for parents guiding children. Bush offers 70 short exercises for when readers are stopped at a red light, taking a shower, or waiting in line. She reminds readers to roll out goodwill to fellow travelers, remember what matters in life, and release current worries by visualizing them going down the drain. Bush is masterful in explaining triggers and putting forth tools without the usual paragraphs of verbiage that weigh down books of this sort. Hawn uses scientific principles to help parents and children develop mindful awareness and live in the present moment. While she writes from experience and from the heart, Hawn spends too much time justifying the approach and lingering on personal experiences. Her advice is still worthwhile as she helps parents model kindness and express authentic sadness, empathy, and optimism. Adults and children will be well served by both of these titles. [10 Mindful Minutes, see Prepub Alert, 4/11/11.]

Library Journal

Beloved actress demonstrates how a few minutes per day can change the way we see the world. Following on the heels of her bestselling memoir, Hawn (A Lotus Grows in the Mud, 2005) shares the success of MindUP, a social and emotional learning program developed by her Hawn Foundation with the support of experts and used in elementary schools. She describes MindUP as a program that teaches children the mechanics of their own brain, allowing "them to become more self-aware and…to manage and reduce their own stress. It effectively puts them in control of the way they respond to the outside world." These tools have resulted in a positive change in the way children, as well as adults, perceive how their brains influence their lives. Hawn shares personal anecdotes that illustrate the MindUP theory in action, juxtaposed against scientific evidence and practical exercises. She instructs readers on how to find "teachable moments to share discoveries—at the dinner table, in the car, or on the way to school—whenever and wherever it feels appropriate." Decent advice for young children; some adaptations for teens would be beneficial.

Kirkus Reviews