Explore the Book

Looking at parenting from being a parent, working with children and families, as a healthcare worker, manager and teacher, and with openhearted understanding

Parenting is a huge job that we tend to figure out as we go along. But we can learn from those who have parented before us, help each other out and Parent B.I.G. with just a few tweaks here and there.

I'm lucky to have many aspects of parenting to pull from including working with kids and their families, managing and supervising staff, teaching, and raising my own family.  Each perspective gave me a better understanding of people, parenting, mentoring and relationships.

We want to work with our parenting partners to establish our family values and guidelines when children are young and before we face challenges.  Preparation and communication provides a fertile ground for kids to grow.  As they mature we want to continuously transfer personal responsibility over to our kids, encourage exploration, choice making with an understanding of consequences, and empower kids to be their personal best.

We are better parents when we work cooperatively, ask for help, share in the work and the fun, and change directions as needed.

I wrote this book at the request of one of the parents of a five year old I was seeing weekly for Physical Therapy.  He was a smart, spirited and active child, who preferred to do things his way.  Yet I was able to accomplish lots in therapy by setting goals, having clear expectations of classroom behavior, structuring work and play rewards, as well as remaining unemotional and non-negotiable that I was in charge.  His mom encouraged me to share my parenting ideas and though I never thought about writing, once I started I realized I had a lot to say.

I jotted ideas down in this homemade leather bound book my daughter gave me as a gift.  And though I write most of the book on my laptop computer, sometimes I will print out some pages so that I can actually move them around as I edit.  I constantly snap pictures and write my thoughts down on my phone when I'm out and about so that I can capture an idea in the moment.

After I had a rough 1st draft, I hired a really smart dear friend to help me tackle editing and organizing.  I have written 5 complete versions over the last few years and every time I think I done, I realize it needs more work.  I have had help from family and friends to edit and read and edit some more.  Presently I am in full edit mode to simplify and condense the book down into a more readable and publishable version, along with developing this website and all it's nuances.

It's way more work than I ever dreamed of but I hope to have the book ready real soon.