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Take A Break Mat is created and manufactured by Lovebugs And Hugs, a company founded by us, Valerie and Oliver Garrett. We are dedicated to helping children and adults feel good about themselves. As parents of two children under 3, we found ourselves in uncharted discipline areas, and felt most disciplines, such as time out chairs were negative, un-safe, and an eye-sore in a small house.  We researched tools for mindful parenting and positive discipline, but did not find any to our complete satisfaction. We set out to design an effective strategy that would be a safe zone, bring calmness to any situation, easy to roll out and up, and help children as well as adults build confidence in making daily life choices. This is how we came up with the idea of Take A Break Mat and started Lovebugs And Hugs.  After years of researching positive strategies for enhancing behavioral awareness and self-esteem, it became apparent that Lovebugs And Hugs should incorporate three elements of great importance into the development of Take A Break Mat:

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1). Reflection and awareness of current moods, choices, challenges, and strengths 

2). Enhancing confidence to take the initiative for making future choices and decisions
3). Feeling loved and valued for who you are

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The design for this mat incorporates all the elements of mindfulness and positive reinforcement. The questions on the mat are specifically designed to instantly reflect and promote behavioral awareness. The mat also incorporates color therapy. Each color is specifically chosen and placed on the mat to promote balance, calmness, focus, and positivity. We are proud to introduce this mat of our creation in hopes that it will help all children and adults reflect and feel good about each day.

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Valerie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from San Diego State University, and a Master of Arts degree in Art and Humanities from California State University, Dominguez Hills.  She has been a professional makeup artist in film and television for over fifteen years and has also worked with Courses4Teachers, an educational company in partnership with University of the Pacific, for over ten years. 

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Oliver graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communication in Journalism with an emphasis in Film and a minor in History from University of Southern Mississippi. He has worked in the film and television industry as an Assistant Director for over fifteen years. 

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