Are you a present parent?

1. What the Study Looked At

Researchers studied 2,156 parents and their children (ages 6–12) to understand how present parenting — calm attention, emotional awareness, and mindful responses — affects children’s emotions and behaviour.

They measured things like:

• Parents’ mindfulness (how aware and present they are)

• Parents’ ability to regulate their emotions

• Parenting behaviours (warmth, support, calm responses)

• Children’s emotional regulation

• Children’s behaviour (tantrums, negativity, cooperation)

Participants were grouped into:

• More present parents → calm, aware, emotionally steady

• Less present parents → reactive, stressed, rushed

2. What They Found

Kids Handle Emotions Better

Children with more present parents were better at calming down, naming feelings, and managing frustration.

Fewer Behaviour Problems

These children had fewer tantrums, outbursts, and arguments.
They showed more cooperation and problem-solving.

Parents’ Calm Leads to Kids’ Calm

When parents regulated their own emotions, children had fewer emotional ups and downs and felt safer.

Stronger Parent–Child Connection

Children felt more “heard” and “seen.”
They reported feeling closer and more understood.

A surprising point:
Parents didn’t need to be perfect.
Even being present sometimes made a noticeable difference.

3. What This Means for Everyday Life

Being a present parent doesn’t require long conversations or perfect patience.

It simply means:

• noticing your child

• taking a breath before reacting

• responding with calm intention

• giving small moments of full attention

These small behaviours make children feel secure, reduce parent stress, and make daily family life smoother and lighter.

4. Small Changes That Help (Easy for Families)

Choose One Breath Before Responding

A single slow breath helps you respond calmly instead of reacting fast.

Listen at Eye Level

Sit or kneel so your eyes meet your child’s gently — it helps them feel safe.

Name the Feeling

Use phrases like:

• “You’re upset.”

• “That felt hard.”

• “You really wanted that.”

This teaches emotional awareness.

Schedule a 10-Minute Nature Reset

A short walk, fresh air, trees, or sky helps both parent and child calm the nervous system.

Model Repair, Not Perfection

If you reacted quickly, you can say:
“I’m sorry. Let’s try again.”
Repair builds stronger trust than being perfect.

5. Limitations to Keep in Mind

• The study focused on school-age children; toddlers and teens may respond differently.

• Most data were self-reported by parents, which may not be exact.

• These findings show associations (present parenting ↔ child well-being), not guaranteed cause-and-effect.

• Cultural differences may influence how mindful parenting looks in daily life.

Even so, the patterns strongly support the benefits of being emotionally present.

Reference

Yan, J. J., Schoppe-Sullivan, S., Wu, Q., & Han, Z. R. (2021). Associations from parental mindfulness and emotion regulation to child emotion regulation through parenting: The moderating role of coparenting in Chinese families. Mindfulness, 12, 2273–2284. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01619-3