Early Parenthood Is Isolating
When I initially started my business, I was a pediatric speech-language pathologist with a brand new baby living as an expat in a foreign land.
I came up with a plan to woo other new parents and caregivers to want to hang out with me.
Because, although I certainly experienced my share of the deep vulnerability, incredible lack of confidence, and insane level of overwhelm and anxiety that affects many new parents…
One thing I DID know about was how to play with a baby.
I wasn’t worried that I was “doing it wrong” or “doing enough.”
I didn’t feel that, when it came to early development, I was “just winging it.”
But I found, as I started leading part play groups / part parent support groups out of my home, that many of my fellow new parents did feel that way.
So I started showing my new friends simple ideas for supporting and connecting with their babies (and as our children grew) and toddlers.
I showed them how to take simple objects, like the empty toilet paper roll, and use it to support a baby’s understanding about important developmental concepts.
I showed them why everyday routines, like changing a dirty diaper or putting on your shoes, are often the most powerful moments for learning.
I had come up with a name for my website (knowing nothing about websites), and started blogging for fun.
I called my site “Strength In Words,” a play on my language specialist roots, a nod to my hometown (go, Warriors!), and an allusion to the fact that what we do and how we speak to our children as parents in those first few years has an enormous impact on the way they learn language and other developmental milestones.
But it never really felt like it was quite the right name.
But as my work became more and more focused on creating online content to reach a broader audience, I stuck with it.
Strength In Words was the name of my business, my brand, my podcast…
But it didn’t say what I do, straightaway. It didn’t scream,
“I help families with infants and toddlers feel confident they can raise a great human from day one – without having to buy a single toy!”
But then, I published my first book.
And things started to come together.
The first book, Understanding Your Baby, was, in written form, what I had done with my friends during that very special postpartum period.
And then I wrote my second book, Understanding Your Toddler, which finished out the foundation.
And now, I had something.
I had a foundation.
I could see, SO much more clearly, what I had been trying to build all along, but hadn’t yet had the words for.
I wasn’t just talking about the strength of our words, the importance of early communication…
I was helping families see how they could support all areas of development.
I had developed an entire curriculum for parents and caregivers to use with their babies and toddlers…
A framework to help them decode their tiny human’s development.
A way to see how their babies and toddlers learn, to discover right along with them.
And a way to do it without the constant barrage of feeling like they didn’t have the “right” toy.
A way to do it without feeling like they needed to be “doing” more.
I started referring to it as the Learn With Less® curriculum. I started thinking about what that could mean.
And from there, things started to feel… right.
Learn With Less says exactly what I help you see is possible.
It’s exactly what I do.
It takes my values: simplicity, education, ease…
And packages them into three little words.
The Learn With Less curriculum is the heart of my business, it’s what I teach, it’s what I stand for, it’s how I want to be seen.
And so, today, I present to you a shift, a rebrand, and a settling in to what has been here all along.
Strength In Words has shifted to become the brand, Learn With Less®.
You can listen to the Learn With Less podcast, where we explore topics like understanding infant and toddler development, making more with less, balancing needs, priorities and relationships, setting up the environment for learning, setting limits and managing behavior…
You know, the stuff we experience that generally encompasses our biggest challenges in these early years of parenthood.
The podcast brings you conversations. My Instagram and facebook feeds (both found now at @learnwithless) bring you conversation starters and visual ideas. My books bring you clear guides for you to read either on your phone late at night or as a traditional paperback when you have a free hand.
And should you want the path of least resistance – sending week-by-week developmental info and simple activities as your baby grows, just in time resources, support and conversations, should you want a sounding board of other parents and professionals (including me), you can join me in participating in the Learn With Less® curriculum (just head to learnwithless.com/online)
I also have some new things coming down the pipeline.
Without getting too deep into it, I’m finding new ways to serve the educators and professionals in my audience, as well, some of whom are also parents and caregivers.
If you are a professional working with infant or toddler families, and you’re looking for new ways to explore and share the ideas and conversations we have here at Learn With Less, you can head to learnwithless.com/certification.
And there you have it.
I would love to hear your thoughts – how do you define learning with less? What does it mean to you? Are you a “learn with less parent?”
Send me a DM or tag me on Instagram at @learnwithless, and tell me!
