Halloween is very different in the middle of nowhere!

When we came to live in Scotland nearly seven years ago, we were introduced to the sweet tradition of  ’Guising’.  This is an old Scottish tradition where the children go out on Halloween in disguise as witches and the like.

Instead of Trick or Treat, the children go  round the houses and perform a poem or a song or tell jokes before receiving nuts, apples and sweets.

It’s something that our daughter Zoe really took to and has enjoyed many years of fun.

Now she’s 15 – she is helping us celebrate by decorating the house and waiting for our little ‘visitors’ – she is delighted to be giving out the treats this year.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Safe Halloween.

Heather Bestel created Magical Meditations 4 Kids to help parents solve some of their biggest problems:  Building their child’s self esteem, helping them let go of worries and get a peaceful night’s sleep – in short: Be Happy & Confident.  If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to do this for your child, then fill in your details in the box above and receive a free mp3 to help your child sleep peacefully – tonight!

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Now that the clocks have gone back bedtime can be something of a challenge for our little ones as their body clocks become adjusted to the change.

Don’t worry, they will get used to it in a little while. But in the meantime, you can make their lives and yours a little easier by using our free downloadable bedtime relaxation.

It’s called ‘My Angel’ ~ a lovely meditation that helps send little ones off to sleep. Get your free copy by clicking the link below:

My Angel Bedtime Relaxation mp3

Use it as part of your regular bedtime routine. Allow some quiet time each evening. A nice warm bath and a quiet story to settle them. Dim the lights and use soft voices and music.

Give them (and yourself) some peaceful nights with our compliments

Heather Bestel created Magical Meditations 4 Kids to help parents solve some of their biggest problems:  Building their child’s self esteem, helping them let go of worries and get a peaceful night’s sleep – in short: Be Happy & Confident.  If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to do this for your child, then fill in your details in the box above and receive a free mp3 to help your child sleep peacefully – tonight!

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It’s World Mental Health Day and The Office for National Statistics says that nearly 10% of children and young people aged between 5-16 years have a mental health problem.  Imagine three kids in every class in the country will be suffering with anxiety or depression.

The main reasons for these health problems are:

• family problems or parents splitting up
• death of a relative, friend or someone close
• abuse
• bullying
• neglect
• long-term health problems or serious illness
• problems at school, such as low grades
• a major life change such as moving house
• friendship or boyfriend/girlfriend relationship problems
• alcohol or drug use

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Here’s a photo from my event last year at The Wigtown Book Festival.

I’m very lucky to have been asked back again this year and I can’t wait.

It’s one thing sitting at the computer writing my stories and relaxations but it’s something very different and magical taking them out into the world.

And particularly pleasing to see the difference they are having to the lives of children and their parents.

Last year my event was for 4-7 year olds and we had lots of fun.

This year it’s for ages 8 + and I’ve noticed that some of the Magical Meditators from last year who were 7 are coming back this year because they will be 8. Isn’t that lovely!

So what did we do last time?  Well, we lay on beanbags and practiced how to relax and go all floppy and then we imagined that we were floating on a cloud up high in the blue, blue sky.  Then we slid down an enormous rainbow and that was just the beginning….

Our magical adventures then took us into space to float about with the stars; under the sea to swim with mermaids and on a magic carpet ride – we talked about how it made us feel and took that lovely feeling away with us.

This year, we are meeting Angry Abigail and finding out how The Magic Garden can help her calm down and feel good about herself.  We may also be visiting a very Magical Castle and finding out how we can build our confidence.

At the end of my event – I’ll be having a signing and I’ve got a very special gift for anyone who buys one of my Magical Meditation cds.  I’m very excited again this year and can’t wait to meet all my Magical Meditators ~ they are very special people.

If you’d like to join us at the event – you can book your tickets here

Heather Bestel created Magical Meditations 4 Kids to help parents solve some of their biggest problems:  Building their child’s self esteem, helping them let go of worries and get a peaceful night’s sleep – in short: Be Happy & Confident.  If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to do this for your child, then fill in your details in the box above and receive a free mp3 to help your child sleep peacefully – tonight!

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It’s Friday – which means 2 things in our house:

‘Friday Family Assembly’ and

‘Friday Film Night’

Each Friday afternoon when Zoe comes home from school, we all sit around the kitchen table enjoying afternoon tea and our little ritual of ‘family assembly’.  We each take it in turn to stand and the other two congratulate us on our wonderful achievements that week.

Those achievements may include:  doing something that takes us outside of our comfort zone; overcoming a problem; achieving a goal; being kind to someone else; not giving up when something got difficult.

No matter what’s happened during the week, we can always find something wonderful to give positive feedback about.  I’ve even taken to writing a list of things when they occur to me.  Often when we get to the end of the week, we can forget things that have happened at the beginning.

Family assembly always ends with the giving out of prizes.  Just something small like a chocolate bar.  At the end of the month Zoe sometimes get a DVD or a magazine.

Today I was taken by surprise when I was presented with my prize.

I have been getting more and more into gardening in my down-shifting quest and this spring I am determined to grow something we can eat on a regular basis.  Last year the potatoes were good but everything else got eaten by snails and the mice.

In school Zoe had been working on a little secret project and had finally finished it in time to present it to me at Friday Family Assembly.  My very own gardening trowel.  It’s so sweet and I could bearly see it through the mist of tears.

She will certainly be choosing which film we watch tonight – as Friday is also Family Film Night.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with your family and treasure moments like this.  Why not start your own little regular traditions?  Let me know how you get on.

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During the run up to Christmas, bedtime can become a NIGHTMARE when you have small children.

All the excitement can just get TOO much.  From the moment they wake up each morning they are bombarded with reminders that the BIG DAY is coming.

It’s blasting out at them from the TV screen.  It’s all they talk about with their friends.  Every shop they pass is decorated with enticing festivities all designed to excite the senses ~ and it certainly does its job well.

And have you noticed that every adult they encounter wants to ask them the same things:

“What are you getting from Father Christmas?”

“How many sleeps left?”

“Isn’t it exciting!  Christmas is almost here?”

Now, while this is a wonderful and magical time of year, especially for the little ones,  for us parents, it can be exhausting.  And with all this excitement building and growing during the day, by the time bedtime comes around, the little ones are too hyper to want to go to sleep.

This is when the tantrums and tears occur.  The over tiredness kicks in and everyone ends up drained and upset.

So, over the next couple of weeks try to allow some quiet time each evening.  A nice warm bath and a quiet story to settle them.  Dim the lights and use soft voices and music.  And take advantage of our FREE bedtime relaxation mp3.  It’s called ‘My Angel’ ~ a lovely meditation that helps send little ones off to sleep.  Get your free copy here:

Click the link

My Angel Bedtime Relaxation mp3

Give them (and yourself) some ‘Peaceful Silent Nights‘, with our compliments

Heather Bestel created Magical Meditations 4 Kids to help parents solve some of their biggest problems:  Building their child’s self esteem, helping them let go of worries and get a peaceful night’s sleep – in short: Be Happy & Confident.  If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to do this for your child, then fill in your details in the box above and receive a free mp3 to help your child sleep peacefully – tonight!

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Ta Da…  I’m very excited to unveil our new promotional video on YouTube.

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Last Monday I spent a wonderful evening with the Wigtown Rainbows at their Pyjama Party.  They had each brought their pillow, blanket and a favourite teddy to help them feel cosy.  First we lay down and made ourselves comfortable.  Next we learnt how to relax and float on fluffy clouds, high into the blue, blue sky.  Then we went on a wonderful under the sea adventure with mermaids and seahorses and returned feeling lovely and chilled.

The evening was rounded off with hot chocolate and toast.  The Rainbow Leaders said they’d never seen the girls so quiet and still and we hope that rainbow parents had a peaceful evening too as we handed them back all sleepy and cosy.

On the way home I passed one of the little rainbows and she waved and said to her daddy “That’s the Magical Lady” My work is done! 

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It doesn’t matter how long and hard you work on something.  It doesn’t matter how much effort and love you put into something.  It doesn’t matter how wonderful you think a thing is.

Until someone else does.

I have loved the journey of writing, recording and producing my Magical Meditations.  But that doesn’t matter unless the little kiddy winks that hear them agree.

All the time I was working on them I was thinking about the pleasure they would give to a child who just needed to connect with their inner calm (as we all do).  I was thinking about the happiness they would bring and the help they could give to that child’s family.

The proof really is in the pudding. And here it is …

Heather Bestel created Magical Meditations 4 Kids to help parents solve some of their biggest problems:  Building their child’s self esteem, helping them let go of worries and get a peaceful night’s sleep – in short: Be Happy & Confident.  If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to do this for your child, then fill in your details in the box above and receive a free mp3 to help your child sleep peacefully – tonight!

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Yesterday we got a lovely write up in a local paper The Free Press and today we had another lovely surprise to find the same story in another local paper The Galloway Gazette.

We spent the morning putting up posters for our upcoming launch.  It was a lovely sunny day and everyone seemed pleased to see us and very supportive of our new adventure.

I was also putting the finishing touches to a surprise we’ve got for the local troup of rainbows.  They’ll find out more about it next Monday, so I’ll wait until then to unveil the details ….. shhhhhhh

Heather Bestel created Magical Meditations 4 Kids to help parents solve some of their biggest problems:  Building their child’s self esteem, helping them let go of worries and get a peaceful night’s sleep – in short: Be Happy & Confident.  If you’d like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to do this for your child, then fill in your details in the box above and receive a free mp3 to help your child sleep peacefully – tonight!

Share the Magic with others!

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