Hello Reader, Can we take a moment to breathe together? (Inhale, exhale). There's a LOT happening in the world right now. Actually, it's been quite an eventful year. There's been a lot to process. And that's just on the national and global stage. I've found it difficult to write about parenting and kids, honestly, because there is so much happening beyond the walls of our homes, and because sometimes the most impactful thing we can do is narrow our focus to our own communities, our own...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, We've all been there. You made the plans. They know the plans (although, it's debatable whether or not they're fully on board). The time comes to execute the plan, and they're giving you a full-bodied no. They won't go, and now they're in full-blown meltdown mode, crying on the floor or curled into themselves under a blanket. What can you do? Most parents have one of two reactions: Are you kidding me?! Faced with a sudden meltdown, they feel blind-sided. They had a plan and...
6 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, My daughter had roller derby camp this week. This is something she's wanted to do since last summer after reading the Roller Girl graphic novel. She's practiced, watched youtube videos, attended junior derby bouts, and signed up for camp. Camp T-Shirt It was all very exciting until the weekend before camp arrived. Suddenly, roller derby wasn't her thing. It was something her old self liked, but not anymore. She didn't want to be the worst one there. She didn't want to be the...
9 months ago • 3 min read
Hello Reader, My fingers feel a bit rusty as I type this to you this morning. 2025 has been quite a year, hasn't it? And it's only March 1st. When the world is swirling around you, unexpected life changes are cropping up, and your child still needs your support more than ever, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. And it's even worse if your partner isn't on board with your parenting, or your friends have kids who sleep through the night, love going to school, or any other number of things kids are...
about 1 year ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, Well, it's 2025, and I've been out of touch. Rather, I've been focused. Focused on creating a homeschool balance that works for us, focused on supporting my clients, and focused on co-creating a school alternative for families in my community. I've come to realize that creating alternatives is my primary form of activism, really, and I have long been an activist at heart. My main purpose with Partnered Path Parenting, for example, is helping families explore alternatives to...
over 1 year ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, I’ve been quiet for a while. My grandmother passed away on September 28th, and it was hard to write about anything but that. Channeling my thinking into usable, relevant chunks for parents was the last thing on my mind. I was revisiting memories, thinking about my younger self. And honestly, I know that version of me would never have imagined that I could be someone who would write about one topic every week for six years. I have a rainforest mind, after all. Sometimes I’m not...
over 1 year ago • 4 min read
Hello Reader, So much I do as a parent goes against "the rules."You can find whole books written about the rules.You can find rules for every aspect of childhood and parenting.More important than following them, in my mind, is questioning them.Question the validity and the necessity.Question who wrote them and what their intention was.Do it even for the things you have always engraved as givens.Do it because you value your relationship with your child and their mental health over...
over 1 year ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, I'm sending you this email from a new email address - partneredpathparenting@gmail.com. You might want to add it to your contacts to make sure you're it doesn't go to your junk folder. But that's just housekeeping. The real reason I'm writing today is to share something that happened with my daughter recently and how we worked through it. It's a fantastic example of coaching and being coachable, and it illustrates exactly why I love what I do. These principles work for kids and...
almost 2 years ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, I'm thinking about all of you raising siblings this morning. When you are raising siblings and one of them (or more!) brings intensity to the table, it is natural to think about how it impacts the others. They need more of your attention, so you worry about the others getting less. They disrupt the flow of family life, so you worry about the way it will impact the others. And the others tell you it's not fair. They question what you're doing. They want things to change. And you...
almost 2 years ago • 2 min read