5 Calm Starts for Busy Mums | Calm Parenting tips for Real Life

Mornings as a parent can feel like the hardest part of the day. Before breakfast is even cleared away, there’s often a toddler refusing to get dressed, a baby who didn’t sleep, and an overflowing wash basket waiting for you.

But here’s the truth: calm mornings aren’t about perfection. They’re about micro shifts that set the tone for your day — simple strategies that give both you and your child more predictability, emotional regulation, and connection.

I’m Jen, founder of Sense of Calm UK. Over the past 3½ years, I’ve created calming, supportive spaces for families, and provided new mum tips — from baby massage classes, new mum self care, support and delivering calming sensory spaces.

As a children’s development specialist and a mum myself, I’ve learned that building calm doesn’t have to mean hours of yoga or expensive retreats. Calm parenting begins with self care that looks like small actionable moments that fit into real parenting life.

Here are 5 calm starts you can try tomorrow.

Calm Start #1: Breathe Before You Scroll

That modern day urge to grab your phone before you’ve even opened both eyes? We’ve all been there. But those first moments of your day matter.

Taking just 60 seconds of intentional breathing before reaching for your phone can lower cortisol, ease overstimulation, and give you a sense of control before the notifications and demands begin.

✨ Try this:

• Put your phone on the other side of the room at night.

• When you wake, place a hand on your chest, one on your belly.

• Inhale for 4 counts, hold 2, exhale for 6. Repeat 3–5 times.

  
  

Calm Start #2: Create an Affirmation Anchor

What you say to yourself first thing shapes your mindset. Neuroscience shows affirmations can literally rewire your brain’s pathways toward resilience and calm.

But affirmations don’t have to be long or cheesy. They can be a few words that remind you: you are enough.

✨ Try this:

• Stick a post-it on your mirror with “I am calm and capable” or “I meet the day with patience and calm"

• Say it out loud while before brushing your teeth.

• Repeat whenever overwhelm creeps in.

  
  

Calm Start #3: Notice Micro-Moments of Calm

Calm isn’t about long meditations or spa days. It’s about catching the pauses that already exist.

When the kettle is boiling, when your toddler is putting on shoes, when the house is (briefly) quiet — those moments are opportunities. Pausing for 30 seconds of awareness can regulate your nervous system and stop stress from spiralling.

✨ Try this:

• Pick one “anchor moment” each morning (tea brewing, toast popping, coffee dripping).

• Take 3 slow breaths during that time.

• Notice: The sounds, the smells, the sensations of the moment.

  
  

Calm Start #4: Build Transition Rituals (for Nursery Days)

Separations can be tough for toddlers — and tough for us as parents too. A transition ritual provides predictability and reassurance, which reduces anxiety for both sides.

It can be as simple as a certain toy they take for the journey, a special hug count, or a goodbye phrase you use every time.

This consistency builds your child’s sense of safety and helps you manage your own worries about leaving them.

✨ Try this:

• Choose a ritual together with your toddler.

• Keep it short, fun, and repeatable.

• Use the same words or action every nursery drop-off.

  
  

Calm Start #5: Create Calm - Just for You

This one matters most — and often feels hardest. But calm isn’t selfish. In fact, modelling self-regulation shows your child how to build it themselves.

Taking time for yourself, even in small ways, is parenting.

✨ Try this:

• Take a 10 minute walk around the garden, or around the block.

• Journal 3 thoughts of gratitude while your toddler naps.

• Swap scrolling for a podcast that lifts you.

• Sit in silence with a hot drink before the chaos.

  
  

When you ensure you create these moments for you, filling your own cup, you parent from a place of emotional resilience — not depletion.

Finding your Calm Parenting style: Final Thought

The pressures of modern parenting never quite go away, but we can learn how to manage them.

These calm starts aren’t about adding pressure or “one more thing to do” — they’re about simple actions that give you the calm foundation you deserve, that fit into your life, your family routine, your way.

👉 Want to keep these tips handy? Download the printable 5 Calm Starts for Busy Mums