About Me

Hi, my name is Niamh and I live in the West of Ireland with my husband and two boys, they’re 7 and 9. I’ve found motherhood to be incredibly rewarding, but also very challenging. Over the past 9 years, I’ve seen the best side of myself emerge, and I’ve also seen the parts of me that I don’t like nearly as much. I’m not particularly good at being really, really tired, let’s put it that way. 

I think most parents who have children of a school-going age now, grew up in a time where wellbeing wasn’t something that was talked about. There weren’t many conversations about feelings around the dinner table in the 1980’s in Ireland, for sure. So I found that when my children started emerging from the toddler years, I didn’t have a frame of reference from my own childhood for how I wanted to talk to them about wellbeing. 

Having spent 10 years teaching at primary school level prior to becoming a mother, I was also aware how children were often struggling with the ups and downs of life. Although we have been very good in Ireland at teaching the more academic subjects, the idea of directly teaching about wellbeing and emotional literacy is a relatively new concept. Thankfully it is becoming much more mainstream now, and the conversation has really opened up about how to look after our children’s – and our own – mental health. 

I wrote this book after years of study and research, in the hope of creating a book that would introduce children – and their parents – to different topics and techniques that can support them in their day to day lives. 

My writing has been particularly informed by my own meditation and mindfulness practice. I had always had an interest in well-being, and began to bring these practices into my life to a much greater extent after having children. All the practices in Mighty Mindsets are tools and techniques that I have tried to bring into my life and the lives of my children. We don’t get it right all the time. There are days when everyone seems tired and cranky – even the cat. We don’t remember to practice gratitude every day. There are some meals that I cook that my children are mostly certainly not grateful for.

But I can honestly say that living a more mindful, aware life has changed my family’s life for the better. My wish is that it can do the same for yours.

Follow me on Instagram @niamhdoylewriter