Taking Time For Me: a 31-day journal to help increase mindfulness & decrease anxiety

Help your child learn to manage their anxiety through the practice of mindfulness and gratitude.

-Are you a parent whose child worries a lot and struggles to relax?

-Do you have a difficult time finding ways that help your child be present without focusing on past or future concerns?

-Have you struggled to help your child think about their feelings and how to take steps to work through them? 

If you are a parent or caregiver who desperately wants to help your child find a way to manage their anxiety, the Taking Time For Me journal is for you and your child!

I decided to write the Taking Time For Me journal after mindfulness and gratitude helped me better manage my own anxieties.

I spent hours and hours over several months searching for a product like this one for my children and when I couldn't find one I wrote my own.

I hear from parents all the time who are seeking simple ways to help support their anxious children.

Practicing mindfulness and gratitude is one such way!

Anyone can learn to practice mindfulness and gratitude, but like so many other things, it takes regular practice to make it a habit.

The concept is simple, but it takes practice.

The Taking Time For Me journal is meant to act as a tool that will help your child learn techniques to grow good habits of practicing both on a daily basis. Each prompt is designed to encourage your child to slow down and take time for themselves by spending time in the present moment. 

What Others Are Saying:

"My children and I loved working through the journal together. My kid's ages span from 5 to 11 and I figured the younger ones would check out, but we incorporated it into our daily homeschool routine, and it quickly became something they all looked forward to each day. We’ve had a lot of good discussions based around the prompts too."

-Catherine

"I wasn’t sure how my daughter would respond to the journal. She’s been experiencing anxiety for the past couple of years and even though I’d read about the benefits of journaling, blank pages overwhelmed her. The simple prompts for each day allowed her to express her feelings and worries and also helped her pay attention to and notice the bright spots in her day. She actually enjoyed working on her journal, and had usually done her day’s prompt before I even had to ask."

-Suzanne

"When I heard about your journal I was skeptical. I thought mindfulness was some woowoo kind of thing, but I was curious. I worked through the prompts with my son and I was surprised to realize it's actually a really important part of mental health. It's helped him and it's helped me become more mindful, which has helped me be more present when he needs me.

-Kara

If you are looking for a simple way to help your child learn to manage anxiety, you owe it to yourself & your child to give it a try.

The Taking Time for Me journal is a 39-page digital download that includes: an introduction & overview, instructions for two simple breathing techniques, 31 days of prompts, a feelings check-in page, and two mindful reminders coloring pages.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Who is the Taking Time For Me journal for?

While my intent for writing the journal was specifically for helping children who struggle with anxiety, anyone can benefit from practicing mindfulness and gratitude.

Parents, caregivers, and educators have used the journal with children.

What age is it for?

When I was searching for a similar journal for my children (ages 8 -15, at the time) I couldn’t find anything for them, so I created it with that age range in mind.

However, children as young a 5 have worked through the journal, with the help of a parent or caregiver.

(And many of the parents who worked through it have told me how much they enjoyed the journal prompts themselves!)

What is mindfulness?

It's explained in the journal, but a basic description of it is: paying attention to the here-and-now, rather than the past or future.

How do mindfulness and gratitude help anxious children?

Practicing mindfulness can help reduce stress and anxiety, calm the mind, help with concentration, reduce negative thoughts, help reduce muscle tension, and slow breathing and heart rate by removing us from the cycle of reliving past moments or prepping for future ‘might happens’.

When our children learn and observe mindfulness and gratitude together it allows gratitude to take up space in the brain, which helps them to feel less anxious, get more restful sleep, and build stronger relationships.

What do I get in the journal?

The journal includes an introduction and overview - including points for talking with your child about the journal, journal set-up directions, instructions for two simple breathing techniques, 31 daily prompts, a feelings check-in page, and two mindful reminders coloring pages.

You can access sample pages prior to purchasing by signing up for our newsletter at: https://www.livingthelifefantastic.com/newsletter/.

Do I need anything special for preparing the journal for my child?

Nope! How you prep the journal is totally up to you and what works for you and your child.

You can choose to print the pages out one day at a time, print them all out at once and prepare them in a three-ring binder, or send them off to your local copy shop to have it printed and spiral-bound.

Print it out over and over again, and use it all year.

Having problems purchasing the journal or downloading the file?

If you have any issues purchasing or downloading the journal, please email me at karla @ livingthelifefantastic.com

Notes:

Please note: this item is a digital product and you will be provided with a link to download and print your journal.

This journal is appropriate for ages 7+