The Art of Parenting with Presence

Parenting is a journey filled with joy, and it also brings moments of real emotional challenge. This first-of-its-kind online program is designed for parents and children (ages 8–12) to strengthen connection and build practical skills for meeting stress and difficult emotions with greater awareness, kindness, and resilience.

By integrating core principles of mindfulness and self-compassion, participants learn to create more space in the moment and shift from impulsive reactions to thoughtful responses.

What You’ll Learn
  • Create a lasting foundation of warmth, security, and trust.
  • Build resilience through practical self-care skills for both parent and child.
  • Meet difficult emotions with greater awareness, kindness, and respect.
What Is Mindfulness

Mindfulness is moment-to-moment, non-judgmental awareness. It is learning to pay attention to experience as it is in each moment. Much of our stress occurs when we operate on autopilot, which can lead to rumination and worry. Through simple practices, mindfulness can strengthen emotional resilience and support more skillful responses to life’s challenges.

Schedule and Registration

Note: CFM requires a minimum of 10 registrants per program. Classes with fewer than 10 registrants will be cancelled and provided a refund. Please be aware of this when making arrangements to attend this program.

Please note: The child must be between the ages of 8–12. If you have more than one child who wishes to participate, you must register them separately. One to two parents may attend with their child.

Cancellation Policy

A refund (minus your $50 non-refundable/non-transferable deposit) will be made for cancellations submitted in writing up to 7 days prior to the event start date by emailing mindfulness@.ucsd.edu. No refunds will be allowed within 6 days of the event start date.

Please be aware that the registration fee, deposits, and funds are non-transferable to other programs.

In the unlikely event that the course is cancelled, UC San Diego Center for Mindfulness is responsible only for a full refund of the registration fee. In regards to in-person programs, the center is not responsible for any refunds to transportation, hotel accommodations, or any miscellaneous expenses.

Refunds are processed using the same method as the original payment (unless past 180 days).

Contact Email
mindfulness@ucsd.edu
Primary Center
Program Format
Price
$375
Pricing Details
$350 if paid in full 30 days in advance.

UC San Diego employees may take the course for $350 ($325 if paid in full 30 days in advance).
Audience Type
Program Summary
A 6-week online mindfulness and self-compassion journey for parents and children ages 8–12 to build emotional awareness, resilience, and more skillful responses to stress together.
Program Session
Sundays, 2–3:30 PM PT

Mariana Ampudia

First Name
Mariana
Last Name
Ampudia
Institution Affiliation
Headshot Image
Image
Mariana Ampudia
Titles
Youth Program Teacher
Organizational Roles
Short Bio

Mariana Ampudia is a certified mindfulness instructor for kids and teens with training through the UCSD Center for Mindfulness and experience teaching school-based mindfulness programs and supporting mindful and compassionate parenting workshops.

Bio

Mariana is a certified Mindfulness Instructor for kids and teens. She took a mentoring and certification training program at the UCSD Center for Mindfulness. She also completed an intensive teacher training in the Mindfulness in Schools Education Project (MiSP .b program), a program launched in the UK, having obtained a certification to teach this dynamic, classroom-based program to middle and high school students. She is currently working to become certified to teach the Making Friends with Yourself Program, which is a Self-Compassion curriculum for teens based on the ideas and research of Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer taught at the Center for Self-Compassion. Since 2015, she has been working with the Youth and Family Programs Division at the UCSD Center for Mindfulness.

At this time, Mariana provides support in Mindful and Compassionate Parenting Workshops and will start offering training on this to parents in Mexico. Mariana strongly believes in the power of Mindfulness. This has inspired her to concentrate her studies on helping children and teens develop self-regulation, resilience and social-emotional skills that they can use for the rest of their lives. Her passion for teaching children and teens has inspired her to pursue further training in the Little Flower Yoga Program. This also motivated her to start a Stress Reduction Program where she applies her knowledge to teach in economically underdeveloped areas in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she has been teaching a multiage group of teens and pre-teens.

Mariana is a multicultural woman. She spent eight years living in Europe. This has helped her better understand how different societies work. Her native language is Spanish and she also speaks English, French and German. She spends her free time traveling and producing wine at her vineyards in Ensenada, Mexico with her husband.

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