Simply put, conscious parenting is conscious living. Being fully here, in the present moment now. Not in our heads, and not on our phones. How many times have I fed my daughter, and caught myself starting off into the distance lost in some errant thought. We cannot always be directly connected to our kids, especially when we are caring for multiple children; but wow when we are! How greatly this aids in development and their own personal sense of self.
The beautiful thing about having a career centered around the care and upbringing of children is that they force me to stay in the moment. I am not thinking of my to do list or my upcoming meal. I am right here, right now. Now when taking care of a child yet to speak, this may feel more challenging. Often I feel like I am just talking out loud to myself, but I gently remind myself that my baby is absorbing everything I am saying at a rapid rate. Did you know that a baby is born with 100 billion neurons? That is twice as many as an adult, and their brains are a whole lot smaller. If they are stimulated properly through our speech, it can strengthen those synapses and protect them from becoming weakened. So keep on talking to your baby mom!
Staying present in the moment takes active realisation and often. One thing that helps always bring me back to the present is feeling into my body. This can be done by simply focusing on your breath, or asking yourself the question, "how am I feeling right now?" So often we hold our breath without even realising and forget to be mindful of this most precious gift of life. Tracing the flow of breath, taking a big deep breath and holding at the top before slowly releasing all the air out, finding your heartbeat: If you find your mind wandering when you are playing with your child, having simple practices of bringing you back to your body help keep you focused on the now.