Honoring Childhood

time for some support and encouragement! tell me something you are hoping to accomplish this week and let’s cheer each other on! we all need some support and it’s important that we make that effort with each other. for me, I am hoping to write one chapter in my next book! what about you?

are you having real conversations with children during the day? often, we think we are but so much of those “conversations” are rooted in control. we’re telling them what to do, we’re telling them where to go, we’re telling them what they shouldn’t be doing. instead, we should be talking to the all day long. we should be having real conversations with them, showing them that they have important things to say. these conversations should be safe spaces for them to ask questions, be curious, and speak their minds. these conversations should be fun as well! I talk to children in the same way that I talk to anyone because we’re all just people at the end of the day and having these conversations with children can create such a meaningful relationship with them. what’s your favorite thing about having conversations with children?

consent is an important thing for all of us to know, understand, and practice and it is so vital to teach it it to children early! so many of us did not learn about consent or learn that we had choices and a voice when we were children and are now working through what that means for us as adults. we should want something different for children. so let’s teach the that the have power in their words, they have the power to say no-to anyone. they don’t owe anyone affection, behavior, love, compliance, etc. it is important to teach children this as early as possible and yes that starts in infancy! speaking to children and letting them know what is happening even before they can speak is valuable in teaching consent. “I’m going to pick you up now to change your diaper.”, “I’m going to put you into your crib now”. all of these begin to teach children what to expect from adults and when they are able to start communicating, encouraging them to use their voices to speak up for what they do and do not want is incredibly important. how do you practice consent with children? how do you support them in using the power of their words?

have you thought about how you view children lately? have you thought about the experience you are giving them and whether that is the experience you want them to have? self-reflection is one of the most important tools that we have when we think about our work with children. reflecting on our experiences and how those information the ways in which we work with and interact with children. what are your thoughts on this

🌸 so excited to be getting back out there offering workshops to educators and early childhood programs! had the absolutely a couple weeks ago to give a workshop to a great group of early childhood educators and family child care providers and they had some wonderful things to say! It brings me so much joy to be in community with folks and to know that they things I have to share resonate with folks, encourage them, and help support them in the very important work they do each and every day.

🌸 want to bring one of my workshops to your program? just send me a DM and let’s chat! I would be so honored to be able to support you and your team! 🫶🏼

NEW EPISODE ALERT 🚨

as educators, we talk a lot about building relationships with children, but what does relationship based practice actually look like? today the incredible Cathy Belgrave ( ) joins me as we dive into this. we talk about what being in true relationship with the children and adults that we work with really looks like and what it means for us.

let me know your thoughts on this episode and be sure to follow Cathy to hear more of all the amazing things she has to share!

ece preschool prek

NEW EPISODE ALERT 🚨

have you ever struggled with your sensory tables in your classroom? what to put in them, how to clean them, how to get the children excited for it? or maybe just your own anxiety about the mess it may create? believe me, I have been there! that is why I am so excited to have Kayla Snidal back on the podcast today! She has so many great tips, tricks, strategies, and ideas for creating the best sensory bins for your children-no matter their age!

take a listen and be sure to check out more of Kayla’s sensory bin ideas on her Instagram () and her website! Plus listeners to this episode get a special deal on her ebook all about sensory bins!

Let me tell you, this hit home for me when I started thinking about it! If I’m honest, there were so many times that I was emotionally manipulating the children in my classes. We do it in so many ways that we may not even realize we’re doing it. Also because so much of what we have been doing for so long can be seen as emotional manipulation we may not even clock it. Have you ever tried to get a child to behave differently by telling them they’re making you sad? Check. Have you ever made a child feel guilty for something to make them apologize? Check. Have you ever tried to make a child feel a certain emotion because you felt like they should? Check. These and so many more examples are things we might do all the time and not even think or consider how they could be perceived or what messages they could be sending the children. None of this makes us a bad teacher or a bad parent or a bad person-it is all about unlearning and rethinking how we interact with children and how we think about them. It can be hard to think that we may be unintentionally doing something like this to our children but noticing it and doing the work to change is what is important. Our children deserve it. Can you think of any other ways we may be emotionally manipulating children?

Listen up! Just because we have been alive longer than children does not mean that we are better than them, smarter than them, or more important than them. This is another message that has been passed down in our society that aims to lessen children and take away the power they have and replace it with compliance and obedience. When we strip that away and understand that we are equal participants with children in our world and the spaces we occupy with them, we can build stronger and more meaningful relationships with them as well as help them to understand the power they have in themselves. All of this can lead to a world that is full of kind, strong, confident, and compassionate people. Something that we are lacking a lot in this world currently.

This is not something we think about often but it is so important. A child’s name is an important and special part of who they are. We need to be ensuring that we are using their correct name, their preferred name (nickname or otherwise), correct pronunciation, and respecting their pronouns. Personally, a lot of folks tend to shorten my name without my consent and it is something that really upsets me so I always try to do what I can to make sure I am calling children what they prefer. I have had children tell me they want to be called by their whole name (Charles as opposed to Charlie), and being able to respect a child’s wish like that is so powerful for them. It helps them to understand the power they have in their name and their words. It’s the least we can do for them. So take the time to know your children’s names and how they are pronounced. It does mean something. 🫶🏼

In fact, it is important for children to make mistakes! Making mistakes teaches children how to think deeper and more critically, how to overcome disappointment, how to find power in themselves, and how to not take life so seriously. Think about your own childhood for a moment: were you ever encouraged to make mistakes? What happened when you did make a mistake? Was it treated as a positive or negative thing? Now think about how you feel or react when you make a mistake as an adult. There is a huge correlation between those two things! For me, I want children to have a different experience than I did and the only way for that to happen is for me to give them a different experience. So let’s start encouraging mistakes and celebrating the as an important part of life instead of using them to make ourselves (and each other) feel badly. Because you know what? We all make mistakes. It is what we do with those mistakes that make us who we are. 🫶🏼