I've always been passionate about finding one's inner wisdom and when I became a mother this was taken to a whole new level for me. I started to realize that our society is often not supportive of encouraging parents to find and follow their inner wisdom when it comes to parenting choices and decisions. More often that not, parents are made to feel that they have to follow a certain regime, or routine, and that their babies should be doing certain things at specific times and if they aren't, that there's something "wrong". But the truth of the matter is that there is never just one way of doing things and that for each family this can be different. There is however, a common thread: parents that feel informed, confident and empowered are able to enjoy the parenting journey and make choices and decisions that leave them with a sense of satisfaction and well-being. Yet, not many parents start off their parenting journey with this confidence and empowerment.
There is much focus placed on pregnancy well-being and preparing for birth, however, there is a lack of information and support provided to parents for what comes after. Of course, there are hundreds of books and other resources out there, but many times parents and parents-to-be find it overwhelming to find the time to read, let alone to decipher the often contradicting advice and info given to them from all the different approaches to parenting.
What parents need so this confusion and doubt can be avoided is for them to have a sense of purpose and truth about the parent they envision themselves to be and the family they want to create. With this vision in place, they are better able to navigate the parenting information sphere! Moreover, they are better able to negotiate and accept or decline advice or suggestions given to them by others, instead of letting this advice create more doubt and confusion! However, as parents, we are rarely encouraged to think about how we will parent. We also often feel guilt about wanting to maintain and pursue personal goals once we become parents. However, practicing Self-Care and not losing track of who we are as individuals is important too.
All this (and more!) is stuff we will be discussing and presenting about during the workshop!
Dr. O'Leary and I have come together to collaborate on this workshop because we both feel there is a need to provide parents and parents-to-be with the information and tools they need to maximize happiness and health in their parenting journey. We both wish there had been something like this available when we first embarked on our parenting journey.
The workshop information is below. Please feel free to pass it along if you know of someone who may be interested!
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