Izzy Judd initially took up mindfulness to support her own mental wellbeing. But it’s become a big part of family life for the violinist and author too.
“Mindfulness is definitely an anchor I very much appreciate, especially in motherhood,” says Judd, who is married to McFly drummer Harry Judd – the couple live in London with their daughter Lola, who turns eight later in January, and sons Kit, six, and Lockie, two.
“One of the lovely things we do, which I do with Lockie in the bath, is all about the senses. It’s such a lovely time to smell the bubbles, feel the water, listen to the tap running – all these sensory things which help bring us back into the present moment.
“It’s also helping the child stay calm, because that time of day is often chaos,” she adds with a laugh. “Everyone’s getting a bit feral!”
Judd – who first rose to fame as part of the original line-up of Escala, the electronic string quartet group that reached the 2008 Britain’s Got Talent finals – is all about making the most of small everyday moments with her toddler.
From picking out their breakfast bowls in the morning, to “pointing out things as we’re walking to school and talking about the weather. And Lockie loves cars, buses and trucks, so it’s, ‘Look at the red bus!’,” she adds. “We usually sing in the car too – Lockie’s got his faves, normally In The Night Garden and Fireman Sam. And reading, pointing things out in the book.”
They love finding ways to engage while pottering around the house too.
“Doing the laundry – he loves getting the clothes out and helping,” Judd laughs. “With my first, I would have thought, ‘Oh I can’t bring her [while I do laundry], that’s a job for me to do’. But actually, it’s getting Lockie to do those things with me, and he really enjoys putting clothes into the basket. And yes, everything takes much longer, but it’s about chatting to them and bringing them into your day.”
Judd is supporting the new Little Moments Together campaign, part of the wider government Start for Life scheme.
There are now 75 ‘family hubs’ open in 75 local areas as part of the scheme. Designed to be a ‘one stop shop’ for parents and carers, they provide access to support and advice on everything from infant feeding and early language skills to parent-infant mental health, with resources to support them at home too.
It’s all about improving family life and supporting vital early years development. According to research accompanying the campaign, 83% of parents are unaware that 90% of a child’s brain development happens by age five.
“It’s not a fact that I knew before doing this campaign,” Judd admits. But what she likes most about the campaign is that it highlights how the most important tools for parents to support their children’s early development are things we already have within us.
“It’s a reminder how you are enough actually, as a parent, to help with your child’s development. It’s reading, chatting with them, just simple playing. And I’m still learning, even though I’ve had two nought to fives already,” she continues.
“As a mum of three, you never feel like you’ve absolutely cracked it. And each child is different and develops differently and has different interests.”
But the pressure on parents can be immense. Judd – who recently released a new single, Somewhere In My Memory, along with her older brother Rupert Johnston, who suffered a life-changing brain injury in a car crash in 1997, when Judd was 12 (she shared a moving post on Instagram about what it meant to record with her brother, who plays the French horn) – is a big fan of going a bit easier on ourselves. Having some solo time with her toddler before bed is something that helps with this.
“Because some days it is busy, it is just getting through the days sometimes. But I always try to do a 10-minute ‘golden time’ before bed, because Lockie goes to bed a bit earlier, where I solely focus on him. And I find that really helpful on busier days, just to know I’ve got that one-to-one moment with him, where I’m able to interact.”
Something else that’s also become very important for Judd recently is “thinking about perhaps something you loved before becoming a mother, that maybe you have lost connection with. For me, that’s playing my violin,” she explains. “So going back to music and being able to teach them something which I know I can give to them. With Lockie, I played lots of lullabies to him as a baby. And they love it – babies sing before they talk, it’s massive in terms of their development.
“I think it’s nice to remember the things you enjoyed before [having children], because we’ve all got strengths, haven’t we?”
In terms of reconnecting with her own beloved violin, Judd says: “I just needed it when Lockie was born. I just needed to play. I can’t really explain it.
“I went through fertility struggles with Lola [Judd has previously talked about going through IVF and suffering a miscarriage], and then Kit was born very quickly after, and so having two under two, it was manic, it was full on, and I was trying to work and everything else. I was just trying to figure out getting through each day.
“I guess with Lockie, because Lola and Kit were that bit older, I felt like I had the chance and confidence to have another go. So I reached for the violin, because it felt like the most natural thing to do, to play my violin to him. And it was amazing.”
She recalls playing to him when he was just weeks-old and crying, and him being “instantly soothed” by the music.
“And I felt calmer,” Judd adds. “It was really important for both of us.”
Izzy Judd is supporting the Little Moments Together campaign. For further information, visit nhs.uk/start-for-life/early-learning-development