What was the best bit of your day today? For SEN parents, taking a moment to write down three good things from the day can gently change how it ends.
When you are a tired mum of a child with SEN, it is so easy to replay only the hard parts. The call from school, the meltdown about shoes at the front door, the form that needs filling in all over again. The nice moments slip away before bedtime.
This week, why not take 15 minutes for a calm moment and write down three good things from the day? Inspired by hygge, the Danish idea of cosy comfort, it is about small, ordinary, lovely things you might otherwise forget.
A good parking space at the clinic counts.
Make it cosy
Find a quiet corner and gather a few things:
- A notebook you like the feel of, or a few loose cards
- A pen that writes smoothly
- A lamp or candle instead of the big light
- A warm drink, perhaps something caffeine-free
- A blanket over your knees
Your 15 minutes of looking back kindly
- Settle in first. Sit down, take a sip and let your shoulders drop.
- Rewind the day. Think back from waking up to now, slowly.
- Pick three things. They can be tiny. A kind word, a warm coat, a funny moment.
- Write them down. A line or two for each, in your own words.
- Read them back. Let yourself smile at each one.
Slow it right down
Some evenings the good things will come straight away. Other evenings, after a day of appointments and phone calls, you will need to dig a little. Both are fine. There is no wrong answer here.
As you write, try to notice:
- The details that come back when you pause
- Which people keep turning up on your list
- How small moments can feel bigger on paper
- How your mood shifts by the third one
Finish gently
Close the notebook and leave it by your bed or on the kitchen table, ready for tomorrow.
You could also:
- Ask the children for their three good things at teatime
- Pop your notes in a jar to read at the end of the year
- Flick back through old pages on a tough day
- Send a quick thank you to someone who made your list
Children borrow our calm, and a mum who ends the day noticing the good things has a little more of it to share.
Your 15-minute challenge
Tonight, give yourself 15 minutes.
Find a pen. Open your notebook. Think back over your day.
Then write down three good things, however small they seem.
It does not have to be a good day. It does not have to be beautifully written.
It just has to be tonight.
Even on the hardest SEN mum days, there is always something worth keeping.
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.