“Roots and Wings – Childhood needs a Revolution” is a practical mindfulness book, a guide for parents and educators (or anyone else involved in children’s lives) to integrate mindful life skills into education and everyday life. The book is structured into a theory and practice part, which makes it a great resource to be picked up again and again to look up information or activities.

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“I have always been interested in education and raising children as best as we can as a society. I was introduced to mindfulness over ten years ago when I had personally hit a wall with my own mental health issues and ever since I have been of the strong belief that a mindful lifestyle should be a part of everybody’s life.

Attitudes such as kindness, compassion, non-judging, patience and acceptance are life-skills that could contribute greatly to positive changes in our fast-paced society. Modern day challenges such as the influence of technology, the internet, social media and significant changes in lifestyle have had a big impact on how children grow up nowadays and we as parents and educators need to step up and equip our children with necessary life skills to navigate these turbulent times.

This book started out as something entirely different. Initially I had planned to compile a mindfulness programme for families rather than a book. Well, this “thing” had a mind of its own as it just wouldn’t go where I wanted it to go. So I had to take my own “mindfulness” advice and accept things as they were developing and just go with the flow.

It was a great experience because the writing process felt as if I was writing a guide for myself, for my parenting and my work as a teacher. It really focused me on what I believe is truly important for raising resilient, compassionate and happy children and in the meantime not forgetting about ourselves. I love the quote by Eleanor Brownn: “Self care is not selfish – We can’t serve from an empty vessel”. It is so important to take care of ourselves in order to be truly available for our children.

With this book I hope that I can give some ideas and impulses which can be easily introduced into our everyday lives and routines. This isn’t about giving our lives an instant radical overhaul, it’s about starting to make a positive change one small step at a time.

Mindfulness isn’t the cure for all, but the different components and attitudes can make a big difference in the way we approach life and give us and our children the necessary skills to weather the storms with a little more ease. It will also help us to be more present and enjoy all the great people and beautiful things that are already enriching our lives right in this very moment.”