Hi, I’m Noelle Wittliff.
I’m a Mother of Two, Licensed Family Therapist, Trauma Resiliency Specialist, and Mindful Parenting Coach. I teach parents effective tools to reduce stress and overwhelm and strategies to raise resilient, secure, and confident kids. With over fifteen years of experience, I support families to learn, grow, and heal in powerful ways.
“Taking Noelle’s Mindful Parenting course was one of the biggest gifts I’ve given myself.”
Read more reviews of Mindful Parenting
Thanksgiving is right around the corner! 🥰 🍂🦃🍁
I’m giving away a free Thanksgiving Gratitude Packet that will support your family`s practice of gratitude and appreciation.
The packet includes mindfulness activities for all ages, including coloring pages to inspire children to think about the people, places, and things in their lives for which they’re most thankful as well as pages for teens and adults to reflect on their own sources of gratitude.
🌟 To download the free packet, you can click the link in bio, or copy and paste this into your browser: https://ck.mindfulparenting.com/thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving! 🥰 🍂🦃🍁
Mindful Art Mondays: Internal Weather Report ☔️⛈🌈
With so much turmoil in the world right now, it’s important to bring empathy and curiosity to our kids’ emotional and mental states.
In the children`s mindfulness class that I teach in Portland, I invited the kids to take a few moments to identify their thoughts and feelings and to draw them as different kinds of weather.
You can ask your child: "What was your weather report from yesterday? What is it today? And what`s the forecast (or vision) for tomorrow?"
Bring curiosity to the internal "weather" of each family member this week. If your child is experiencing some stormy emotional weather, ask them what they need to soothe the storm.
Slowing down the breath, taking a mindful walk, or drawing their feelings can be helpful places to start.
As our hearts break for the innocent lives impacted by the horrific attacks in Israel and Gaza, we experience a collective trauma. It affects our minds, bodies, and spirits.
During times of crisis, it’s more important than ever to focus on what we can control:
—our structure and routines
—our grounding and self-care
—the care of our children and families
—sending support to organizations that offer humanitarian aid
Here are a few to consider:
Doctors without Borders: https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/
Save the Children: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/west-bank-gaza#statement
Mercy Corps: https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/emergency-crisis-israel-and-gaza
May we all be held in compassion.
💨 Let`s take a deep breath with Alphabreaths!
This mindfulness book for kids sparks the imagination and makes taking a breath silly, playful, and fun while also helping cultivate calm, focus, and resilience.
Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing, by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen, was a big hit in the kids` mindfulness class that I teach.
Lots of giggles and full breaths as we went through Alligator breaths to Zzzzz breaths and every letter inbetween. 🥰
Teaching kids to connect to breath and body helps them to navigate the world with a peaceful mind and a full heart. 📚✨
Mindful Art Monday: Sensory House 🏠🧘♂️
🎨✨Dive into a world of sensory exploration with this mindfulness art activity where kids can use their senses to feel centered, grounded, and creatively empowered. 🌟🌈✨
🏠🧘♂️ The Sensory House helps kids identify the people, places, and things (also referred to as resources 🌟✨) that help them feel calm.
Invite your child to draw a picture of what they like to see 👀, taste 👅, smell 👃, touch ✋, hear👂, and think about 🤔 behind the windows and door of their sensory house.
If you`re doing this activity as a family, it`s a wonderful opportunity to learn about each family member`s resources and what helps them to feel safe. 🌸
Swipe to see my grounding resources! 🥰
(This art project was inspired by an activity in the Sitting Together mindfulness curriculum by Sumi Loundon Kim.)
Materials:
Construction paper
Pen
Colored pencils
Crayons
Glue stick
🏳️🌈 I attended the Capitol Pride Parade in Washington DC with my family a few weeks ago to support and celebrate our LGBTQ+ friends, family, and community.
🏳️⚧️ I`m heartened that so far this month, a federal judge in Indiana halted the state`s ban on gender affirming care for trans youth and that a court in Arkansas recently ruled that bans on gender affirming care are unconstitutional.
🌈 LGBTQ+ rights are human rights and gender affirming care saves lives.
Two years ago, Juneteenth was made an official federal holiday to celebrate the end of slavery in the United States.
The Freedom Quilt by Jesse B. Telfair is hanging in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. I had the privilege of visiting the museum with my family last week and was moved beyond words.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Ms. Telfair was fired from her job as a school cafeteria employee for registering African American voters in Southwest Georgia. She made this quilt as an affirmation and a reminder of her freedom and the freedom guaranteed to all American citizens.
There are some wonderful children`s books that share the story of Juneteenth and can open up thoughtful dialogue about why we celebrate this momentous day. Here`s a list to get you started:
🌟Free at Last, by Soujourner Kincaid Rolle (all ages)
🌟 The Juneteenth Story, by Alliah L. Agostini (ages 6-11)
🌟 What is Juneteenth? by Kirsti Jewel (ages 8-12)
🌟 Opal Lee and What it Means to Be Free, by Alice Faye Duncan (all ages)
🌟Juneteenth for Mazie, by Floyd Cooper (ages 6-9)
🌟Juneteenth, by Drew Nelson and Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (ages 7-10)
🌟Raven the Great: What is Juneteenth? by Dr. Paulette McClain
🌟Juneteenth Jamboree, by Carole Boston Weatherford (ages 6-9)
#juneteenth #blacklivesmatter #freedom
Mindful Art Mondays: Pinwheels!
Awareness of breath is an important part of mindfulness.
Pinwheels are a wonderful way to help kids connect to their breath and experiment with pace and length of inhales and exhales.
We made these pinwheels with white card stock, colored markers and jewel stickers.
When children are not allowed to express their emotions, they`re not able to learn how to regulate them.
Holding space for feelings, while at times challenging for parents, is an important process in supporting our kids.
Through the process of co-regulating, we teach children how to eventually regulate and sooth their own upset feelings. This is a skill that develops over time and has lifelong benefits.
A mantra that I find helpful is: All Feelings Are Welcome!
📚 I came across this children`s book on a recent trip to Astoria - I am Quiet: A Story for the Introvert in All of Us.
📗 It`s a very sweet, affirming story about the rich imaginations of even the kids who tend to be labeled as quiet and shy. The book reminds us that answers, friendship, and strength are sometimes quiet.
📘 If you have a child who`s been labeled as shy, I think they`ll find this book to be quite validating!
Written by: Andie Powers
Illustrated by: Betsy Petersen
Happy Mother`s Day to all the moms and maternal figures who are breaking generational cycles to parent more mindfully and heartfully.
And sending deep compassion to those who have lost a mom or who have trauma related to having a mom or being a mom.
I wish you healing on your journey and the capacity to hold your pain with tenderness today.
🧰 Have you ever wondered which tools are most effective for your parenting toolbox?
In working with families for almost 20 years now, I`ve reflected on this question many times!
There are five tools that I think are most important, and I`ve created a free guidebook to walk you through each one.
Get instant access to Five Days to a More Mindful Family and begin practicing these tools to strengthen connection and create greater family harmony.
When you`ve finished the 5-day practice, please reach out to let me know how it went! (Link in bio.)
In honor of May 4th, I`m sharing some more Star Wars origami characters!
My son was inspired by a series of Origami Star Wars books we came across at the library last year and had so much fun making these little guys.
I love open-ended days where we can engage with our inspiration and creativity. This is the essence of mindfulness with kids!
I love this mindfulness card deck for teens and tweens, created by Gina Biegel, LMFT. It includes 50 cards that allow teens to strengthen practices of self-care, grounding, and mindfulness. It`s accessible for adults, too. 💕
I recommend keeping a mindfulness deck at the kitchen table and having each family member take a turn selecting a card to ponder. 🥰
Anger is always about unmet needs. When we, as parents and caregivers, feel frustrated or angry, it`s important to turn our attention inwards first, before directing our feelings outward.
When we tune in, we can listen to what our body is communicating to us. Once we`ve discovered our need in that moment, we can try to meet that need for ourselves, or make a request for it to be met by someone else.
Parenting is not about eliminating our feelings, it`s about finding skillful ways to express them.
Parenting our children at every age gives us the opportunity to simultaneously re-parent ourselves. If your child is 4, think about what you needed at 4 years old. If your child is 16, what did you need during your adolescence?
You then have the opportunity not only to offer that type of nurturing to your child at their present age, but you can offer it to yourself, too.
It`s never too late to heal the past and to give ourselves what we needed all along.
My re-parenting includes slowing down, allowing all feelings, and offering myself empathy and compassion. 💗
❄️ Mindful Art Mondays: Winter Penguins Craft
As a working mom who loves doing arts and crafts (but doesn`t always have time to do them from scratch) I appreciate kits that are fun to assemble without a lot of prep work required!
These cut-out penguins are a fun wintertime craft to make with kids on snowy or rainy indoor days. Pictured here are the penguins my kids made, each with its own personality and style. 🥰
Supplies:
Penguin kit from Paper Source
Glue
Scissors
Mindful Art Mondays: Chinese Lanterns
In honor of the Lantern (Yuan Xiao) Festival starting today, I`m sharing Mindful Art Monday a day early!
The Lantern Festival is a holiday celebrated in China and other Asian countries to remember deceased ancestors on the 15th day of the lunar calendar.
The Lantern Festival supports reconciliation, peace, and forgiveness. The lanterns themselves represent letting go of past selves, and the color red is a symbol of good fortune.
My kids made the lanterns pictured here from red and yellow construction paper. The directions are as follows:
1. Fold a piece of red construction paper in half lengthwise with the fold on the bottom closest to you.
2. Draw a line about an inch from the top horizontally across the paper.
3. Cut vertical lines starting at the bottom fold up to the top horizontal line about an inch across.
4. Unfold the paper. Keeping the cut lines vertical, wrap the paper around into a circular shape and glue or tape the top and bottom ends together.
5. Cut off a one-inch strip from the long side of a yellow piece of construction paper. Glue this along the bottom of your lantern.
6. Cut off a 1" wide strip from the short end of the yellow paper for the handle and glue or tape to the top of the lantern.
7. Cut 4" strips from the remaining yellow paper to attach to the bottom of the lantern. If you`d like, you can write some wishes for the New Year on the fringe.
Happy Lunar New Year!
When I make it a practice to connect with myself and my highest intention for the day BEFORE I get caught up in the news of the day, I feel sturdier and more grounded.
This calmer energy lasts throughout the day, and changes how I show up in all aspects of my life.
A simple practice that I like is to think of something that you feel grateful for before you get out of bed in the morning. As you bring that image to mind, savor how it feels to connect with your gratitude.
Take a few full breaths, set an intention, and then start your day when ready!
Parenting Support: Visual Reminders to Change Behaviors (ours not our kids`!)
If you’re working on changing an old parenting behavior (like yelling or rushing), place a few bracelets, rubber bands, or hair ties around one wrist.
Let these serve as a reminder of your intention to show up differently for your kids today. If you slip into an old pattern of raising your voice, for example, move one band to the other wrist.
This is a reminder to you that some repair needs to happen. Some relationship experts recommend a 5:1 ratio of positive interactions to negative ones. When repairing with your child, consider seeking out 5 opportunities to connect and engage with presence and kindness. Then move that band back to its original wrist.
The goal is to eventually get through a day without needing to move any bands over to the other wrist. Every time you see those colorful ties around your wrist, you’ll be reminded of your intention to show up differently.
These are consistent reminders that will help you stay focused and present. Eventually, you won’t need bands to remind you, as your intention will be integrated and intuitive. You’ll develop new habits of communicating and relating, that with practice and effort, will be the new normal. 💕
Mindful Art Mondays: Origami Fortune Cookies
In honor of Chinese New Year beginning today, I`m sharing Mindful Art Monday a day early! This is a very simple and fun craft to do with kids.
1. Draw a circle on a sheet of origami paper and cut it out.
2. Bend the top of the circle to touch the bottom of the circle, without folding the circle in half. Gently press the middle of the circle to make a small crease.
3. Fold the left and right side of the circle towards each other and use the other hand to press an indentation at the bottom point of the folded circle.
4. Place a dot of hot glue on the inside of one side of the folded edge, close to the small crease.
5. Write your wishes for the new year on strips of of paper and gently slide them into the folded cookies.
Happy Lunar New Year!
I love these words of wisdom from Pema Chödrön. I`m reminded of the importance of thoughtful consideration of others and mindful awareness of how our actions affect them.
"We don`t set out to save the world. We set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people`s hearts."
--Pema Chödrön
If you`re looking for simple ways to incorporate more mindfulness into your daily family life, Mindful Games Activity Cards by Susan Kaiser Greenland is a great place to start.
These cards strengthen the skills of attention, balance, and compassion. I keep these in the kitchen and we pull out 1-2 cards at mealtime to practice slowing down and coming into the present moment. 💗
A child`s secure relationship with their parent is protective, healing, and resilience building. Indeed, the most powerful mental health intervention known to mankind.
🌸 Mindful Art Mondays: Handmade Flower Paper
🌺 This is wonderful mindfulness art activity as it incorporates visual, kinesthetic, and tactile sensory learning. 🙌
🌼 There are many different ways to make handmade paper. Here, I`ll offer the method my kids learned in their farm camp (examples shown here).
💐 Supplies: colored construction paper, jars, water, flowers, paper towels, a screen or sieve
🌻 Tear up colored construction paper into tiny pieces and place the scraps from each color into separate jars. Add some water, screw on the lids, and shake. 🌟 Shaking the body releases stress and tension and is a great grounding exercise.
🌷 When the paper begins to break down, take out different colors and place them onto a screen or sieve. Press down with dry paper towels to flatten the paper and absorb excess moisture. Then add flowers to press into the paper as desired.
🪷 Place the paper in sunlight to dry. In about a day, you`ll have some really beautiful and interesting nature creations to enjoy!
🌟 Mindfulness Practice: Resourcing
Let`s talk about resourcing!
Resources, as used in trauma-resiliency and mindfulness work, refer to anything that brings us a sense of calm, peace, joy, safety, or internal sturdiness.
Animals are a wonderful resource as kids (and adults) can borrow qualities from favorite animals to remind them of their own internal bravery, strength, resilience, steadiness, confidence, or power.
In my office, I keep a bowl of these small animal figurines (pictured here). When a child that I`m working with identifies a quality that could help them to try something new or face some kind of challenge, they choose an animal that embodies the strength that they`re needing.
I invite them to take the animal with them, keep it their pocket, and when they`re in the new or challenging situation, they can draw the strength that they`ve identified from their animal resource.
I, myself, have been known to keep a saber-tooth tiger in my pocket from time to time when needing an extra boost of confidence or assertiveness. It really helps! 😉
🌟 A simple mindfulness practice that you might try this New Year`s Eve is to write down everything from this year that you`re ready to let go of.
🌟 This list can include habits or feeling states that no longer serve your highest good. Maybe you can set an intention to let go of stress, overwhelm, people-pleasing, over-committing, excessive screen time.
🌟 After writing this list, release it in some way. You can tear it into small pieces and throw it away, or if you have a fireplace, toss it into the fire. Connect to the feeling of LETTING GO.
🌟 Next, you can write a second list that includes everything that you`d like to call in for the New Year. What do you want more of in 2023?
🌟 More quality time with loved ones, slowing down, more movement, a renewed meditation or journaling practice? Let your imagination guide your intention setting.
🌟 New Year`s Eve is a wonderful time to reflect, let go, and set intentions for the upcoming year.
🎉 Happy New Year!
While researching happiness and joy for a talk that I gave earlier this year, I was heartened to learn that happiness can be cultivated through action. It`s not just a state that comes and goes, although for most of my life, it sure felt that way. Here are some practices to cultivate and strengthen a sense of happiness:
❤️ A daily gratitude practice - training the mind to notice and reflect on what you appreciate.
🧡 Being of service to others through small acts of kindness and support.
💛 Bringing to mind someone you love and whispering a thank you to them!
💚 Moving your body in a way that feels good to you - this could be gentle stretching, playing hide and seek with your kids, or taking a dance class.
💙 Savoring moments of contentment, wellness, or ease - when you notice something that feels good, take some time to savor it. Let your mind and body register the joy in the experience.
💜 A mindfulness practice! A daily mindfulness practice reduces feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression, and increases feelings of equanimity, joy, and a deeper connection to ourselves and others.
If you’re a parent who wishes to have:
Less stress, tension, and overwhelm
Fewer conflicts and power struggles
More flexibility and cooperation in your family
A deeper connection with your kids
A greater sense of internal calm and sturdiness
Then, welcome! You’re in the right place.
For information on my individual and couples therapy practice, please visit noellewittliff.com
It starts with a simple intention, a desire for change, and a willingness to develop new strategies and ideas about how to care for ourselves and our children.
The first step toward meaningful change is creating a vision for your family and then reaching out for the right support to get you to where you want to be.
What is Mindful Parenting?
Mindful Parenting is about slowing down and bringing attention to the big and small moments in each day. Mindful Parenting refers to parenting consciously and intentionally, with compassionate awareness of our own feelings and needs, while also tuning in to the feelings and needs of our children. When we parent mindfully, we respond, rather than react. We find opportunities to engage with our children in ways that naturally encourage their flexibility and cooperation. We strengthen emotional safety within the family and foster secure and loving attachments.
Mindful Parenting is about parenting in the present moment, in the only place where we can affect change.
Click here to learn more about my own Mindful Parenting journey
How Mindful Parenting Can Help
‣ Parent Coaching sessions for guidance and support
‣ Mindful Parenting Online Course
What Parents Are Saying
Danielle Grace, Mother of Two:
The Mindful Parenting course turned out to be the exact thing I was longing for: guidance, invaluable information, and new approaches to parenting. Noelle’s presence is incredibly calming and warm. She is empathetic, a wealth of child-development knowledge, and an incredible teacher. You can tell that she truly loves what she does. I’m profoundly grateful to have taken her course.
Debbie Lee, Mother of Two:
Noelle is a wonderful teacher. I’m so grateful to have taken her Mindful Parenting course and would highly recommend it to parents and caregivers of children of all ages. The course helped me to understand my own childhood experience; understand brain and child developmental stages; and find ways to keep calm during moments of parenting challenges and frustrations. This course helped me to not just be a better parent, but to be a better person in all of my relationships.
Luana Adduci, Mother of One:
Taking Noelle’s Mindful Parenting course was one of the biggest gifts I’ve given myself. It was so empowering for me as a mother. The best word I can come up with to describe my experience is eye-opening. I learned to offer myself empathy which not only helped me become more empathetic towards my daughter, but has also prevented potential outbursts. I feel so much calmer around situations that would have driven me crazy before.
Melissa Kinnicutt, Caregiver to School-Age Children:
First and from my heart, Noelle is amazing and this class is going to change lives and make the world a better place! Her knowledgeable understanding and passion for this subject is engaging and inspiring. I know anyone who is raising or working with children would find this course informative, useful, and inspiring.
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