How many cold, half-drunk mugs have you rediscovered this week? For SEN parents, being able to sit with a hot drink until it’s finished can feel like a small miracle.
On the windowsill, by the microwave, next to the pile of school forms. As a mum of a child with SEN, you make a cuppa with the best of intentions, take two sips, then the phone rings about an appointment or your child needs you, and it is forgotten until it is stone cold.
This week, why not take 15 minutes for a little calm moment, inspired by hygge, the Danish idea of cosy comfort, and sit with a hot drink until it’s finished? No getting up halfway, no reheating. Just you, your mug and the time it takes to reach the bottom.
The microwave gets the afternoon off.
Make it cosy
Clear the way so nothing pulls you up mid-mug:
- Any quick jobs done first, so they are not nagging at you
- A big mug that holds the heat, or one with a lid
- A biscuit or two on a little plate
- A comfy seat with somewhere to rest your feet
- A gentle word to the household that you are off duty until your cup is empty
Your 15 minutes of unhurried sipping
- Sit before you sip. Settle fully into your seat before the first mouthful.
- Hold it close. Cup your mug in both hands and let the warmth seep into your fingers.
- Take small sips. Put the mug down between each one if it helps you slow up.
- Stay seated. When the urge to jump up arrives, let it go and take another sip instead.
- Finish every drop. Enjoy that last, slightly cooler mouthful as a small win.
Slow it right down
A drink has its own natural timer. It starts hot and it ends empty. Letting yourself follow it from beginning to end is a lovely way to practise not rushing.
As you drink, try to notice:
- How the taste changes as the drink cools
- The steam fading little by little
- The pull to get up and do something, and how it eases
- How good it feels to actually finish something just for you
Finish gently
When your mug is empty, sit for one more moment before you stand. Notice that the world carried on perfectly well without you for a quarter of an hour. Children borrow our calm, so the calmer you feel after your cuppa, the more calm you have to share with them.
You could also:
- Make it your daily mid-afternoon ritual
- Use a special mug that means “do not disturb”
- Try a drink you sip slowly by nature, like a hot chocolate with cream
- Share the ritual with a partner, each finishing your own cup
Your 15-minute challenge
This afternoon, give yourself 15 minutes.
Pour your drink. Sit down. Stay there.
Then sip slowly until you can see the bottom of the mug.
It does not have to be a fancy coffee. It does not have to be piping hot to the end.
It just has to be this afternoon.
No more forgotten cups of tea.
Looking after you is part of looking after them. For more calm moments made for mums of children with SEN, visit For parents. And if you’d like simple 10-minute activities to help your child, Mooki Cards starter packs are free until 31 January with the code HELPEVERYCHILD.