Easing your child’s back to school worries

As thousands of Australian children nervously prepare to go back to school, new research reveals that mindful parenting significantly reduces children’s stress levels.

While mindfulness – a present-focused, open and non-judgmental state of attention – is becoming a mainstream stress management technique, evidence of its impact on children to date has been sparse.

A new study by the University of Melbourne’s Director of Positive Psychology and Gerry Higgins Chair in Positive Psychology, Professor Lea Waters, is the first of its kind and explores how parents’ mindfulness can help ease child stress.