Follow the Child

For our last episode of this 2019 season, Shawna is sharing her second home birth story which took place just one year ago! We're chatting about natural home birthing, working with a midwife, and considerations in going from one to two children. We'll be taking a short break over the holidays and will be back in early January for the 2020 season!

So excited to have Clinical Mental health Counselor Laura Ackley back on the show with us covering the vulnerable stuff in ours and our children's lives! Courage- we all want it, and certainly hope for it for our children. Laura believes that the ability to reach courage is directly tied to vulnerability. Are we willing to really be seen as our authentic selves? Do we model shame free and vulnerable behaviours in front of our children? How is anxiety in parenthood tied to vulnerability? BIG conversation happening here on FTCP that leads to one very important thing we all care so deeply about: protecting our children's self worth!

Ep. 24 Therapist Laura Ackley on Courage & Shame Free Vulnerability for our Children by Windy Brzezi?ska and Shawna Thompson

Welcome back after our little Thanksgiving break! This week we're onto the topic of Old Saint Nick and how the conversation of how we choose to celebrate the holidays can vary in different homes and cultures. We share our personal approaches to the fictional story of Santa Claus, (we both tend to air on the side of honesty with our children:) As well as how we have incorporated charity and the spirit of giving into our family values. Also! - the Waldorf approach to Advent or 'The coming of light' and celebrating and honoring our connectivity to other kingdoms of the planet has really captured both of our interest and imagination! Catch us chatting about all of it here!

Thanksgiving is almost here, which is usually a warm time around the dinner table with those we hold close. In this episode, Shawna shares about how the "Pilgrims and Indians" narrative is so insidious in American culture and education, especially in children's literature. Shawna suggests that reading about real-life Native American families helps us break down stereotypes and helps us move away from a culture of racism. Specifically, we can actively seek out children's literature that positively and accurately portrays modern-day American Indians.

Ep. 21 Fragrance and Consumer Awareness in our Children's and Household Products by Windy Brzezi?ska and Shawna Thompson

Secondary Infertility- We're in the middle of it! And so Ive decided to share our story so far, as seen from the actual midst of the struggle. Open dialogue on infertility is typically very limited, and if anything its focused on the "miracle at the end" with only a few words about the undeniably enormous struggle, and emotional roller coaster it took to get there. And maybe the miracle never comes... so then what? The story isn't worth sharing? Currently 1 in 10 couples in the US is struggling with infertility. And nobody is talking about it. But we are- here at FTC Podcast, we believe in holding space for the hard stuff... in all its painful, awkward glory.

A short recording with just Windy on helping our children to press pause or take white space as needed. Life is hectic, especially with the holiday season upon us. Its no wonder that we often notice our children "acting up" during this intensive and stimulating season. Taking pause for ourselves as adults is something that is talked about more and more lately, but what about giving our children the same break? Turns out children need the same, if not more down time than we do to simple process, reflect and rest. The more that we are able to honour that, the more we will be helping them to meet their needs, and our jobs as parents get a little easier.. win win, right?1

This week we're discussing the importance of routines and structure in the daily home life as an empowering component in our young children's lives. Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers truly thrive on routine. Having a general predictability to the course of the day gives them confidence and security which fuels their behaviour patterns, ability for creative play and happiness. Its up to us as the adults to provide the safe and structured environment and schedule in which they can experience "freedom".

Part Two of the Feeding our Kids Topic- this time focusing more on the conversation of family and societal culture regarding food! Keeping on the track of whole foods in a society that has us immersed in processed foods can be challenging, but it is possible! Sharing about our own approaches to navigating this, as well as some personal food intolerance experiences of our own and of our children and what was learned there. There is so much information available now about making healthy food choices that reduce inflammation and give us more energy - why not pass that intuitive knowing onto the next generation from the beginning!?

Welcome back! This week we're sharing a bit about our own experiences on the path of getting baby onto solid foods... what went well, and what was challenging! BLW books and Instagram would have us all thinking that every baby who turns 6 months old is ready to be an enthusiastic eater.. but that isn't always the case. As with all things developmental, each child progresses at their own pace and will ultimately be the one to let us know when they're ready for that next step! Touching on our experiences with purees, BLW, intuitive eating and eventually just following and respecting the child's cues! We hope that sharing our stories of the first two ish years with baby feeding will be of benefit to some new parents, and provide a laugh to those who have been there and done that! As always, we remind our listeners that we are not medical professionals, and the information we're sharing here is intended as generally enriching material only, and is not meant to replace that of your trusted health care providers! Thanks for following along!

Toddlers and Preschoolers absolutely love to help out at home and be a participant in real daily activities.. until it gets discouraged by rushing/ stressed adults. We want to do things fast, efficient and "right". We just want to "get the job done"... and eventually we teach the joy and enthusiasm of helping out of them. In this episode we discuss ways to involve our young children in real home life.. ie "chores". And here's the awesome spoiler: young children do not think of these activities as chores in a negative context! For them being involved in domestic duties by our side is an empowering way to connect to their home environment and to us. Listen in on how to help facilitate your child's love of caring for their home environment!

This week's episode hits on recent events of the Climate Strike! Is it fair that we ask, or even depend on our children to be the voice and momentum of environmental activism (for the problems we've created)? Stewardship may be trending, but by pushing this on our littles at an early age vs letting them simply play and connect in nature and letting a sense of duty unfold naturally - this kind of pressure may in fact backfire in the form of them retracting from nature. How can we foster loving the planet without handing over all our heavy environmental baggage? All this and more on this week's episode!

Ep. 13 Distractions in Parenthood that Disconnect us from our Littles and How to Find Our Way Back by Windy Brzezi?ska and Shawna Thompson

Ep. 12 Interview with Expat and Middle Years Mother of two Kathleen Prophete who is currently raising her boys in Spain. Kathleen shares about navigating the peer culture of her 8 and 12 year olds, what the move has meant for her own career, cultural challenges, and how she handles boundaries and limits as a mindful parent, and how that process has evolved as her children have gotten older.

This week we're discussing the "prepared environment" by Montessori definition, and how the concept of that approach can cross over into the home environment and how we interact with our children. Are we fostering their independence by creating a home space that allows children to "do it by themselves?". Also covering wooden toy makers we love, the why of open-ended toys and play, avoiding battery operated/ overstimulating materials and streaming devices for our littles, as well as how to navigate the occasional gift giving awkwardness when well intending loved ones give without checking in ;)

Baby and Toddler Movement is whats up for this weeks episode! How can we better support our little ones on their own independent sensory motor journeys. Importance of the crawling stage, when to consider a baby movement consultant, and focus on minimalism in the devices we provide our little movers and shakers with! As well we cover fostering toddler movement independence, not projecting our fears onto our children, and helping them to do it for themselves!

The Caribbean slow life with twins! On this weeks's episode of Follow the Child, our guest Tiffany Skinner- an expat twin mama, Flow Yoga instructor, and Integrative Health Coach shares a bit about slowing the pace of life way down on Barbados with her two littles, and how this unhurried approach combined with a natural outdoor oriented childhood and local diet is paving the way for the perfect homeschooling atmosphere. Also covering her full term pregnancy (with twins), tandem breastfeeding, tongue ties and all things twins and irie expat mama life!

On this episode of Follow the Child, Shawna shares the intimate story of the home birth of her first child in San Francisco, CA which was attended by her midwife and husband. For anyone wondering what the preparation for, and act of home birthing might look like...and the vulnerability that undoubtedly goes with it, this is a fascinating episode!

This is an episode every parent, or perspective parent doesn't want to miss with Clinical Mental Health Counselor Laura May Ackley on the importance of nurturing our children's mental health! Laura, a mother of two and registered psychotherapist explains how our children hold within them a huge level of emotional intelligence, and can experience a full range of emotions. She helps us to understand how we can better support them in those big releases (sometimes referred to as tantrums), and talks about removing the shame from both us as parents and our children when big emotions just kind of need to come out! Something I think we can all relate to here! This episode might be the little bit of support your heart has been craving.