Loving Kindness in Family Matters

Within the Balsz School District in Phoenix, Arizona families are impacted by poverty, homelessness, and hunger. Many have experienced trauma due to being an immigrant or refugee, or by exposure to community and domestic violence. To counteract trauma and promote emotion regulation, Crockett Elementary began schoolwide mindfulness in 2016. District-wide mindfulness began in 2020. A parent mindfulness class offered at Crockett in 2022 demonstrated that mindfulness helped parents strengthen their emotion regulation, the parent/child relationship, and children’s emotion regulation.

To further parent mindfulness practice and its benefits, this next wave focuses on loving kindness, chosen for its acceptability and potency. Loving kindness promotes mindful awareness, emotion regulation, positive emotions, and compassion, while activating the caregiving system within the brain, enhancing relational connections. Eight “Loving Kindness and Lunch” sessions provide a needed, nourishing meal, teach loving kindness, and expand the parent mindfulness community. Monthly follow-up sessions reinforce practice and benefits. By participating, parents learn to not only practice but also share loving kindness intergenerationally, as leaders in their families and community.