Goldie Hawn's '10 Mindful Minutes'

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Goldie Hawn on 'Hannity'

Actress pens parenting book

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," September 30, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: Now my next guest says that children these days are over stressed, over worked and over scheduled and it's our job as parents and teachers to remind them to take a break, take a breath.

Actress Goldie Hawn has spent the last 10 years studying the brain and how to manage mental energy and now she's sharing her findings in a brand new book. It's called "10 Mindful Minutes, Giving Our Children and Ourselves the Social and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress, Anxiety For Healthier, Happy Lives." Earlier, I sat down with the Oscar winner to discuss this and much more. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANNITY: How are you?

GOLDIE HAWN, ACTRESS: I'm really well, thank you. Really, really well.

HANNITY: Everybody knows Goldie Hawn. All right, I have to tell a story about you, I was telling you off air, great story. So my son who is now 12, one and-a-half years old in the stroller, my wife's shopping, I wasn't there. You're in the store and my wife comes home that day and tells me, you were playing with my son for 15 minutes, in the middle of the store.

HAWN: I have been blamed for that before.

HANNITY: Is that common? Do you do that a lot?

HAWN: I kind hear about that more often than I can remember, really. But I do love children.

HANNITY: And now have you two grandchildren.

HAWN: Actually, four. I have four.

HANNITY: You got one brand-new new one with your daughter, Kate.

HAWN: Exactly. I can't take it. I haven't seen them enough. I am flying down now to see them tomorrow. It is -- I do, do, do love children.

HANNITY: You know, I'm reading through your book. I'm a big believer in mental toughness. We were talking about this, most people -- I don't even think we learn anything about our brains, but all of a sudden, people are lost in their head a little bit. And the constant repetitive theme, over and over and over and it spins and not aware that they are thinking, half the time. Our kids go before TV or the videogames and they are numb.

HAWN: Right, it does. It has a tendency to numb them.

HANNITY: What's interesting to me is you came to this like most people that gain any insight in life, through personal pain.

HAWN: Yes.

HANNITY: You tell the story, you talk about in your life, and you have told the story, you suffered from anxiety, depression, you know, you never really wanted to be famous. You wanted to own a dance studio. You were a dancer.

HAWN: Right.

HANNITY: But you had great anxiety problems when you first started performing.

HAWN: I was afraid. It wasn't what I had planned. I was afraid. I was out of sorts, right? So I was having panic attacks. I didn't know why. Now I didn't do pills and they didn't have that then. I probably wouldn't have done it because, I, you know, am a task master, I want to figure things out and I did.

I went to a psychologist for nine years. I did it because I was fascinated with the workings of my own mind and the capabilities of how I could attend to it to feel better about my day. And understand more about my emotions, which is what I think this attending to self is what my book is about, for parents or teachers or care givers. Apply the oxygen before you give it to your kid. It's the same thing.

HANNITY: It's a great analogy.

HAWN: It's a perfect analogy because if we are not formed and fit and ready to go, we can't attend to our children, we can't hear them or know what they issue really saying or watch them on that video machine or all of this -- this information highway, which is rewiring their brains. I think honestly, Sean, it's stealing our intimacy with our children. We need that. We have to get --

HANNITY: They need that.

HAWN: We need that. They need that.

HANNITY: This is interesting. You developed this for kids in school. The parents would hear it and they would be interested. You talk about a conference that you were once at and you talk about mindful minutes. This is something I didn't realize I do it until you said about it.

I actually make sure before my radio show, I take 10 at least minutes, quiet time to be with myself. I notice there are birds in the world and they actually sing. But it gets me in a better place because I think, I am more insightful, you know, the calmer, the more peaceful you are. Before this show, I get revved up because I look at pictures of Bob Beckel and Obama.

HAWN: You get all jacked up.

HANNITY: I get all jacked up.

HAWN: But here's the reality. It's really your brain that's doing that because when you get calm, it quiets the emotional part of your brain, which is the emotional part.

HANNITY: We don't have to have kids lining up for Ritalin.

HAWN: I would hope so. One in three of our kids are medicated.

HANNITY: Yes, but you know what, a lot of schools like it. You know why, because it's like a -- a medical baby-sitter in pill form.

HAWN: When we begin to numb our children, some of them need it -- I am not going to say that drugs are not helpful to a lot of children with severe issues, but giving them to make them concentrate better, there are many ways to use this technology with the awareness.

HANNITY: This is important to you. Why did this become so important that you want to write a book, go on a book tour?

HAWN: For the honest reason that I cannot bear to see an unhappy child. I know that sounds cliched or made up. It isn't. I mean, I have adopted children all over the world, nobody knows about it. I have watched them grow up, to live in this world.

I have lost some children, I have won some. I couldn't think that the United States of America could actually say that we are the harbors of the second least happy children in the developed world.

HANNITY: We are?

HAWN: Yes.

HANNITY: Is it because --

HAWN: UNICEF study.

HANNITY: -- because of stress?

HAWN: Yes! Our stress, our expectations --

HANNITY: UNICEF study? Really? I don't remember that -- so parents can look at this. They are going to get a lot of it and kids will get a lot out of it.

HAWN: Even people who are not parents.

HANNITY: I never react, when I am mad at my kids, I always go, breathe. Then I come back because if you don't let the emotion pass, you will never be effective.

HAWN: You have done it. I do it. We need to do it for our kids. Take those extra beats before you come in from work. Just get quiet, guys and feel your insides. Get ready because your kids need every piece of you.

HANNITY: You are a very enjoyable person, very happy. Good to see you.

HAWN: Thank you. Sean, I love this.

HANNITY: You look great. I so appreciate you coming by and all the best to your kids and grandkids. Good to see you.

HAWN: Thanks, OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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