Mindful Toolbox: A series dedicated to mental and emotional wellbeing
The Mindful Toolbox Podcast Practical tools for overwhelmed parents raising school-aged kids (9-16) in a high-pressure world. You’re juggling school stress, screen time battles, and emotional meltdowns and still trying to raise kind, capable humans. If you’re craving a more grounded, compassionate approach to parenting through the school years, you’re in the right place. The Mindful Toolbox Podcast is your weekly dose of sanity, strategy, and support hosted by an experienced educator and parent coach who gets it. Inside each episode, you’ll find: Research-backed study strategies for procrastinators and perfectionists Tools for building emotional regulation and resilience in tweens and teens Advice for handling school refusal, anxiety, or motivation dips Mindful parenting practices you can actually use in busy real life Real stories from real families with just enough humor to keep it human Whether you’re trying to get your Year 9 to revise without a meltdown, helping your 11-year-old manage exam stress, or wondering if you’re doing enough, this podcast offers relatable insights and actionable tools that help you breathe easier and parent smarter. Who it’s for: Parents of children aged 9–16 navigating: Academic overwhelm and underperformance Parents of Neurodiverse Children Screen-time stress and distracted learning Big feelings, low motivation, and school burnout The pressure to “get it right” without burning out themselves What you’ll walk away with: A calmer, more connected home A better understanding of how your child learns, feels, and copes Tools that help your child study smarter, not harder More confidence in your parenting - even during tough seasons New episodes every other Thursday Hosted by Sarahlynn, a UK-based educator and parent mentor with over a decade of experience helping families thrive through the messiest, most meaningful years of school and growing up.
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Episodes
Friday Jul 22, 2022
Friday Jul 22, 2022
In this month's episode of The Mindful Toolbox, we're talking about the vagus nerve and how we can use our knowledge of it to support students with anxiety.
We explore our emotional response, how this is impacted by the vagus nerve and how we can stimulate it to optimise it's function. We share how we, at Bettering Youth, use this knowledge to improve our 1-1 tuition sessions.
Our biggest takeaway:
"We need to make sure we're offering (students) a variety of different tools so that they can try and get the benefit and relief they've been looking for."
I'd love to continue this conversation with you.
What are your thoughts? Share them on our Facebook page.
Friday Jul 22, 2022
Friday Jul 22, 2022
In this month's episode of The Mindful Toolbox, we're talking about the impact of the summer slide and how we can plan for progress while keeping wellbeing + summer fun in mind.
Our biggest takeaway:
"When we plan, we're empowered to make better decisions."
I'd love to continue this conversation with you.
What are your thoughts? Share them on our Facebook page.
Friday May 13, 2022
Friday May 13, 2022
In this month's episode of The Mindful Toolbox, we're talking about how children can revise more efficiently.
We dive in to the top revision methods that are scientifically proven to gain higher marks. We share how we, at Bettering Youth, use this knowledge to improve our 1-1 tuition sessions.
Instead of encouraging this exam culture, it's important to talk about and model a strong sense of self-care. By teaching our children how to set healthy boundaries now, we can be sure they will thrive in their futures.
I'd love to continue this conversation with you.
What are your thoughts? Share them on our Facebook page.
Monday Apr 25, 2022
Monday Apr 25, 2022
In this month's episode of The Mindful Toolbox, we're talking about how we can support children in exam season.
Exam season can be very stressful and at times, all-consuming. Left unchecked, this focus on exams can lead to stress, decrease in motivation, isolation, and anxiety.
Instead of encouraging this exam culture, it's important to talk about and model a strong sense of self-care. By teaching our children how to set healthy boundaries now, we can be sure they will thrive in their futures.
I'd love to continue this conversation with you.
What are your thoughts? Share them on our Facebook page.
I talk about:
The work-life 'balance'
Setting healthy boundaries
Knowing what self-care means to us
Planning self care into a busy schedule
Wednesday Mar 16, 2022
Wednesday Mar 16, 2022
In this month's episode of The Mindful Toolbox, we're talking about how we can navigate difficult conversations and support children during times of uncertainty.
Often when we want to fix the struggle that our loved ones are facing. We need to remember that we can't take the pain away, but we can be there to support them through it.
What's important to remember though, is that it's not so much the words that we use, rather the feeling the child is left with.
I shared a conversation with one of my students about the Ukraine Crisis.
This isn't necessarily a: "How to talk to your child about the Ukraine" model answer.
Hopefully, it does provide some support, guidance and ideas.
I'd love to continue this conversation with you.
What are your thoughts? Share them on the blog.
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
Thursday Feb 10, 2022
In this episode I talk about:
The beliefs that say "I'm not good enough" are entrenched in shame. Shame is what keeps us feeling disconnected from others and cut off from vulnerable feelings.
In order to help soothe these thoughts and anxieties, we explore 12 activities that encourage teens and young adults to find acceptance in their imperfections.
To learn more about emotional wellbeing coaching and mental wellbeing tips and activities, visit our website: www.betteringyouth.co.uk
Monday Jan 17, 2022
Monday Jan 17, 2022
In this episode I talk about:
Where gratitude comes from
How the brain can be changed by practising gratitude
How it impacts our evolution
How to use Gratitude to combat depression, anxiety and low self-esteem
Introducing a Gratitude practise
To learn more about emotional wellbeing coaching and mental wellbeing tips and activities, visit our website: www.betteringyouth.co.uk
Friday Dec 10, 2021
Friday Dec 10, 2021
In 1960s Aaron Beck discovered that humans have automatic negative thoughts.
This identification helped him to build cognitive behaviour therapy, a therapy that's focused on the present and grounded in solution-based activities.
This episode will explore 2 cognitive behaviour therapy activities that can help us to stop the negative self talk.
A powerful episode for anyone of any age. Our examples are inspired by the 1-1 emotional wellbeing coaching sessions we undergo with youth.
If you like it, be sure to leave a comment or subscribe so you don't miss out on our helpful content.
Friday Nov 12, 2021
Friday Nov 12, 2021
In this month's episode of The Mindful Toolbox, we're talking about how to overcome overwhelm and regain peace.
If your family is dealing with a big transition,
If your family has a busy schedule and their hardly feels time to sit and breathe,
If you know your child is struggling to prepare for upcoming exams,
This training is for you!
I talk about...
How the brain reacts to feeling overwhelmed
The two ways that we deal with feeling overwhelmed
4 + 1 methods to overcome overwhelm and regain peace
How to specifically handle performance anxiety
If you like what you hear, be sure to leave us a review and subscribe so we can put out more content that's relevant to you and your family.
Friday Oct 15, 2021
Friday Oct 15, 2021
The power of mindfulness is often overlooked.
It's become a buzz word - especially within the education sector - but few are truly putting it into action.
This session is to empower you so you and your family can take action and claim the benefits of living more mindfully.
Stay tuned until the end as we divulge one of our favourite activities to support children in developing emotional literacy!
What you learn about...
What is mindfulness
Do we need to clear our mind?
Two ways to practice mindfulness
How it supports our learning, relationships and mental health
How mindfulness helps to boost emotional literacy
Top activity to increase emotional literacy
__________
COACHING. Want to work with us to help your child handle and effectively express big emotions? Bettering Youth provides 1 to 1 coaching for (pre)teens who are dealing with anxiety, anger, confidence issues and big transitions.
Get in touch here: https://betteringyouth.co.uk/child-confidence-and-resilience-coaching
__________
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:
30 Activities to support your child's emotional literacy
https://betteringyouth.co.uk/blog/emotional-literacy-30-activities
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Say hi on social:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betteringyouth
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahlynn-hodder/
Register for our monthly sessions here:
https://betteringyouth.co.uk/mindful-toolbox
#mindfulnessactivities #mindfultoolbox #mentalhealth
Friday Oct 15, 2021
Friday Oct 15, 2021
In this month's episode of The Mindful Toolbox, we're talking about how to have better conversations to avoid defensiveness and attitude.
If your family deals with tantrums, attitude, stonewalling, or typical outbursts this session will be very helpful.
If your family is really busy and there's a lot to schedule and you feel like you're always the one running the show, this one is for you.
If you know your child is struggling to share their thoughts and feelings and want to support them to better advocate for themselves; today's episode will help.
I talk about...
The two skills that have been shown to be the most effective in helping families improve communication
How to talk about the brain
Two ways to teach expressing emotions
The power of Family MeetingsHow to host one
What they can be used for