«When you initially learn mindfulness meditation practices, you have to cognitively work at it — especially during a stressful task — and,
these active cognitive efforts may result in the task feeling less stressful, but they may also have physiological costs with higher cortisol production,» Creswell explained.
The idea that parents and caregivers might proactively build the rudiments of resilience is not without precedent.67, 68 Vygotsky suggested that the role of parents, caregivers, and teachers is to work within the child's zone of proximal development so the child will learn to master skills that were previously beyond their independent ability.69 This is the theory behind both Reach Out and Read70, 71 and more recent
efforts to decrease obesity by nurturing the foundational motor skills needed for an
active lifestyle.72 — 74 The current challenge, then, is for pediatricians, home visitors, and early educators to collaboratively increase the capacity of caregivers and communities to nurture those rudimentary but foundational SE, language, and
cognitive skills as they emerge developmentally.