Zen Parenting

'There are few parenting books that hit the mark and this is one of them!' Dr Shefali

We easily fall into the trap of parenting without a real awareness of what we're doing and why we're doing it, invariably using other peoples' ideas and values or outdated child-rearing techniques.

A Zen Parent, is not a label or prescriptive way to parent, but a willingness to stay present with what's happening and do the right thing. It's a commitment to an imperfect practice of continual self-awareness so we can show up for our children in an authentic and mindful way. The one thing that can be counted on throughout parenting is change - just when we understand our child's experience or buy the right size clothes, they change and grow. Just when we get comfortable with typical life challenges, the world experiences a global pandemic. Being able to parent and live well requires a willingness to get comfortable with disorder and uncertainty, and even more of a willingness to be introspective and creative to once again find reorder.

Structured through the 7 bodily chakras, which are used as a framework for human existence, this book is for parents who want to raise their children in a more self-aware and mindful way, to expand their thinking about who they are and what they want to share with their kids. It's a self-study and reminder to pay attention to daily life and the relationships they are creating with their children. And it's an opportunity to live what they want their kids to learn, to show up as themselves so their kids know they can do the same.

“There are few parenting books that hit the mark and this is one of them! This book will give you the real-time tools and awareness to foster a deep and meaningful connection with yourself and your children. A powerful addition to your library! Highly recommended!”

-- Dr. Shefali Tsabary, author of The Conscious Parent and A Radical Awakening
Zen Parenting is a big, beautiful, generous book. Through the intuitively elegant framework of the seven chakras, Cathy Adams offers her reader a wealth of meaningful guidance into one's inner self. She is a calm and gentle teacher, weaving engaging stories and expert advice into a deep and seamless tapestry of personal exploration and parenting wisdom. I learned something new on every page, and felt the peace of knowing I was in the safest, surest hands with this author and this book. Cathy integrates the work of experts in most every field imaginable here, but it's in the sharing of her own experiences that makes each paragraph ring with an absolute and certain truth. I encourage you to protect time to read it slowly, really take it in, and return to it often. This book is my new favorite guide for parenting, to be sure. But it's also a master class in a life well-lived. I love this book. It will become integral to my therapy practice, and my own life. -- Dr. John Duffy, author of Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety and The Available Parent
Zen Parenting is not a prescriptive parenting method, it's a guidebook to knowing yourself better so you can be the type of parent your kids need. You'll leave this book with the awareness necessary to disrupt old patterns and build relationships with your kids that will make you proud. It's a wholehearted approach to changing the future of our families for generations to come. -- Gemma Hartley, author of Fed Up: Emotional Labor, Women, and the Way Forward
Cathy Adams is a gentle, inspiring guide for becoming a more tuned-in, respectful, and connected parent AND human. What I love most about Zen Parenting is Cathy's holistic approach to being present and truly showing up for ourselves and our families, no matter how messy, no matter how challenging. This book is a unique offering in the parenting space that focuses on our relationship with ourselves, which is, of course, where being a Zen parent has to begin. -- Debbie Reber, founder, Tilt Parenting, author, Differently Wired
Zen Parenting offers supportive and empathetic guidance that readers will recognize from the Zen Parenting podcast. Drawing from her own experiences with parenting, her mindfulness practice and her work as a therapist, Cathy Cassani Adams shows us a path to support and nurture our children by understanding ourselves and re-envisioning our daily parenting journey as a practice, not a destination. By diving into our own joys, fears, shame and longing, and being more observant and curious about our children, we can do a better job empathizing with and supporting our children as they unfold into the fullness of their identities. -- Devorah Heitner, PhD, author of Screenwise: Helping Kids Thrive and Survive in Their Digital World and founder of Raising Digital Natives
I have known Cathy Adams for years, and what I admire most about her is how she infuses everything she does with generosity and care. She is as humble as she is wise. Zen Parenting is a beautifully written guide to the parental self-awareness that our kids deserve us to cultivate within ourselves. No matter where you are in your parenting journey, this book will help you bring gentleness and authenticity to yourself and your children. -- Alexandra H. Solomon, PhD, author, Loving Bravely and Taking Sexy Back; Host, Reimagining Love Podcast
Zen Parenting takes parents on a journey of self-reflection, but also gives practical tools for how to use that reflection to enhance your parenting. This will be one of the books I recommend to my parents and families. -- Mercedes Samudio, LCSW, author of Shame-Proof Parenting
A sensible, beautiful book, Zen Parenting gives parents what we crave most: a reprieve from our near-constant angst and uncertainty. Readers will be comforted by Adams' relatable style, compassionate tone, and brilliant insights. This fresh take on ancient wisdom is so chock-full of fascinating research, I found myself pausing every few pages to text friends a new statistic or data point. A much needed reminder that good parenting is a practice, not an outcome, Zen Parenting readers are bound to feel more assured, purposeful, and confident even shortly after they begin reading. -- Michelle Icard, author Fourteen Talks by Age Fourteen

Zen Parenting gives us the tools to focus on what is truly important as we raise our children. Be curious, accept life's uncertainties and have the courage to ask yourself hard questions so that you can be the parent you want to be for your child. In a world where parents too often feel unsure, judged or overwhelmed, Zen Parenting gives us a way forward filled with substance, and common sense wisdom. I think this is a wonderful book for any parent!

-- Rosalind Wiseman, Author of Queen Bees and Wannabees, Founder of Cultures of Dignity

Cathy is a self-awareness expert focused on parenting and the personal empowerment of women and young girls. She's a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Parent Coach, Certified Elementary School Teacher, Certified Yoga Teacher, and she teaches in the Sociology Department at Dominican University. She is the host of Zen Parenting Radio, a top ten kids and family podcast on iTunes, and is the founder of the annual Zen Parenting Conference in Chicago, hosting some of the best parenting experts, including Dr Shefali Tsabary, Cheryl Strayed, Glennon Doyle and Rosalind Wiseman.

Cathy is also a blogger for the Huffington Post, has facilitated a self-awareness program for preadolescent girls called Be U and is a mother to three girls herself. She lives in Chicago in the United States.

'There are few parenting books that hit the mark and this is one of them!' Dr Shefali We easily fall into the trap of parenting without a real awareness of what we're doing and why we're doing it, invariably using other peoples' ideas and values or outdated child-rearing techniques.A Zen Parent, is not a label or prescriptive way to parent, but a willingness to stay present with what's happening and do the right thing. It's a commitment to an imperfect practice of continual self-awareness so we can show up for our children in an authentic and mindful way. The one thing that can be counted on throughout parenting is change - just when we understand our child's experience or buy the right size clothes, they change and grow. Just when we get comfortable with typical life challenges, the world experiences a global pandemic. Being able to parent and live well requires a willingness to get comfortable with disorder and uncertainty, and even more of a willingness to be introspective and creative to once again find reorder.Structured through the 7 bodily chakras, which are used as a framework for human existence, this book is for parents who want to raise their children in a more self-aware and mindful way, to expand their thinking about who they are and what they want to share with their kids. It's a self-study and reminder to pay attention to daily life and the relationships they are creating with their children. And it's an opportunity to live what they want their kids to learn, to show up as themselves so their kids know they can do the same.

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