Wednesday, October 12, 2011

It Takes a Village

Hello Parenting Enthusiasts!


A long time ago, when I was barely contemplating starting a family, my uncle Benj shared this gem with me. He said, "Di, it takes a village." Actually, I think he really said it takes a whole damn village, but you get the gist. And he's right. Damn right. I would not be the confident, happy parent I am today if I hadn't paid heed to my sage Uncle Benj's words and gone out to find my village.


I write today to endorse some of these villages: MOMS Club, Dads ClubECFE, Let's Talk Kids, community education. These types of organizations make it possible for a parent to get all kinds of support, valuable information and to feel heard. They're even great places to share a laugh or two, because when living with smalls, those are in no short supply.


When I started out, I was a S.A.H.M. (stay at home mom), who knew I needed outside support for my own safety and sanity. I joined the local MOMS Club (Moms Offering Moms Support) and quickly developed friendships with other moms in my neighborhood. When one recommended I attend an ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) class, I enrolled in a low cost, 14 week "baby and me" course. It was amazing. Between the outings with the other moms in my club and the parents and educators in the classroom, I was meeting and learning and laughing my way through parenting. Did it make all my problems disappear? No, Silly, of course not! And yet, it DID make me feel able to manage those challenges, so things weren't as scary anymore. Win-win!


Listen up! This is very important, because, although you can get a rich supply of information and yes, even some support, from the world wide web (my blog included!), there is simply NOTHING like having face to face, human contact with another person to help make the world a little more sane and a little less scary.


So if you haven't already done so, get out there and find your village. It makes parenting, whether it's the 'at-home' or 'working mom' variety, so much nicer and lots more fun.


Happy Parenting!



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