I’m so jazzed about this episode of Voices of Your Village because I got to sit down and chat with probably one of the most emotionally intelligent 11-year-olds you’ll ever meet, Elijah. His mom Danielle allowed us to share on Instagram and Facebook an exchange she and Elijah had in which she emotion coached him through a tough situation, and basically the response was that Danielle is serious #momgoals and Elijah is serious #11yearoldgoals. I wanted to chat with Elijah about being a soon-to-be middle school kid - what it’s like and how to navigate all of the hard stuff surrounding this unique time in life. We chatted about the difficulties of middle...

There are generally two schools of thought in regards to sharing, and they tend to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. One end is the belief that what’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours, and my kiddos don’t need to share, while the other end is the belief that everybody takes turns and everybody shares. I believe in finding a middle ground here. Over the years, I’ve worked with thousands of kiddos, and I’ve noticed some trends when it comes to sharing. 

Some kiddos actually really like to share and offer all on their own because it brings them joy. So, what is it about these kiddos that leads to a desire for collaborative...

“That wasn’t my expectation.” Have you ever found yourself in a situation that caused you to say this to yourself? A four-year-old once said this to me and it was quite possibly the biggest game-changer in emotion processing for me. This is truly the root of so many of the hard stuff we feel. If we really breakdown what we’re feeling - whether it be embarrassment, anger, sadness, or disappointment - it is often because our expectations were not met. This has totally changed my emotion processing. It doesn’t mean I won’t feel these things or a situation won’t cause these emotions, but I benefit from being more self-aware of this...

In this episode of Voices of Your Village, I got to sit down with the two people, Fran and Daryl, who raised my favorite human, my husband Zach, and chat with them about how they navigated co-parenting through divorce and separation. These two navigated this challenge beautifully, so there was no one I’d rather sit down and talk to about this than them. If you’re a parent going through a separation or divorce or navigating co-parenting yourself, you’re not alone - this has been a highly requested topic and is super relevant for our village. 

Zach was six or seven when his parents divorced, and according to Zach, he always felt that the decisions his...

As parents and caregivers, one of our goals should be for our tiny humans to trust us - trust us to keep them safe and trust us to do what we say we’re going to do - and for us to trust them to hold up their end of the bargain. You may think this happens in the big moments - them coming to you with a big secret or confiding in you - but trust is actually built in the smaller moments, like keeping a promise. And it’s a two-way street - I expect the tiny humans to do what they say they’re going to do, too. There will be times when we let each other down because that’s just life - but more often than not, we need to follow through.

I want the tiny...

On this episode of Voices of Your Village, I got to hang out with my pal Kristie on her Pre-K Teach and Play Podcast. An accomplished author, sought-after consultant, and educator’s educator, Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak spent 16 years as a tenured professor at Kent State University before leaving to lead a {r}evolution in early care and education. Through comprehensive classes, thought-provoking keynotes, and practical resources, she’s guiding educational professionals toward developing their emotional intelligence, reclaiming children’s right to learn through play, and reimagining more inclusive classrooms. We got to dive into the topic of teaching...

It’s no secret that I firmly believe that kids should be raised in a village. What that village looks like has greatly evolved over time - from when the majority of women were stay-at-home moms, building a village made up of other stay-at-home moms, to a society in which more kiddos are in childcare than ever before. The way that we are raising these tiny humans and the structure of our village has totally changed. Many folks aren’t living near family and are in a space of having to build their framily (friends as family) village. 

So, how do we build our village? 

I had a village that I loved the crap out of while living in Boston, so as we...

This episode of Voices of Your Villages answers one of the most common questions I’ve gotten as a sleep consultant over the past six years, which is, “How do I teach my kid to fall asleep independently?” 

Babies can start practicing falling asleep independently as early as infancy - shoot for once a day where that kiddo isn’t falling asleep at the breast, in your arms, or at a bottle. This will allow them to start building the toolbox they need to be able to do this - habit is real, and routine is powerful. 

Kiddos learn what to expect based on how we respond to them. If they cry and we do x, y, and z, that is what they will expect to...

In today’s episode, I was jazzed to chat with my friend Nicole DiGiacobbe

about raising siblings who have a loving, empathetic relationship with one another. So many folks ask me about raising siblings and how to raise kiddos to have this type of connection with one another, who aren’t fighting or in battle constantly. Can we do this? The answer is “yes,” and Nicole shares what she has done and what she practices to achieve this - and these are tips you can add to your parenting toolbox starting today.

Nicole’s daughters are 21 months apart, so we chatted a little bit about the prep work she went through, if any, in preparing big sis...

Today on Voices of Your Village, we are getting real about mom guilt - that inevitable feeling felt by so many mamas out there. This is one issue that seems to truly be gender-specific; I chatted with a bunch of dads in preparation for this episode and came to this conclusion. In this episode, I got to hang out with my friend Kristen, stay-at-home mama of four, and chat all about this hot topic - what it is, why it’s happening, and what you can do about it. 

Mom guilt is felt by both working moms and stay-at-home moms alike. Kristen worked full time up until the point that her oldest kiddo was five, and then became a stay-at-home mom, so she can certainly attest...