A Model of Mindful Parenting: Implications for Parent–Child Relationships and Prevention Research
Larissa G Duncan, J. Douglas Coatsworth, Mark Greenberg
Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review May 2, 2009 DOI: 10.1007/s10567-009-0046-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 934 |
| Key points | Proposes that mindful parenting, defined as bringing intentional awareness to parent-child interactions, can improve the quality of parent-child relationships, especially across the transition to adolescence, and can be integrated into evidence-based family prevention programs. |
Abstract
This paper introduces a model of "mindful parenting" as a framework whereby parents intentionally bring moment-to-moment awareness to the parent-child relationship. This is done by developing the qualities of listening with full attention when interacting with their children, cultivating emotional awareness and self-regulation in parenting, and bringing compassion and nonjudgmental acceptance to their parenting interactions. First, we briefly outline the theoretical and empirical literature on mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions. Next, we present an operational definition of mindful parenting as an extension of mindfulness to the social context of parent-child relationships. We discuss the implications of mindful parenting for the quality of parent-child relationships, particularly across the transition to adolescence, and we review the literature on the application of mindfulness in parenting interventions. We close with a synopsis of our own efforts to integrate mindfulness-based intervention techniques and mindful parenting into a well-established, evidence-based family prevention program and our recommendations for future research on mindful parenting interventions.