Blogging

Mary’s New Year’s Resolutions

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

It’s been roughly 365 days since we launched Child(ish) Advice and I must say how thankful I am to all of you who have read our content, shared your stories, and sent us support and love. I didn’t think sharing my OT knowledge would make such an impact, but I am so happy it did.

As Child(ish) Advice expands into other areas of child development and parenting, we are happy know that our “advice” has helped you and your families, and we hope to continue to put out useful, meaningful content.

With that said, the new year has us contemplating our goals and aspirations as parents. As we research and write, we can’t help but reflect on the kind of parents we want to be. This past year, I have learned what works and what doesn’t for my kids, as well as what sounds great on paper but doesn’t exactly translate well into practice. For me to be a better parent, I have to do better for myself.

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Quick Update: Party of Five

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

On August 13th, our family of three gained two new members with the arrival of our twin daughters, H and K.

We are overjoyed to have these girls in our lives, but make no mistake, it has been exhausting these past couple of weeks. We’re learning the personalities of these babies, constantly changing up our routines, and acclimating our son A from being an only child to big brother.

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Our New Addition

| Patti Webb

We’re excited to introduce part of our Child(ish) Advice family. Patti is our Social Media and Web Manager, and now a monthly blog contributor. Here’s a little bit about her:

Growing up, I was not part of a stable household. My parents had multiple divorces between them, and I never lived in one place for more than a couple years. From high school to college to young adulthood, I could see the positive and negative repercussions of my upbringing and I still grapple with it from time to time. I think we all make mental notes at some point or another, “I won’t be like that when I have a kid…”.

My husband and I went through 18 months of infertility before becoming pregnant with twins via IUI. In that time, I did a lot of self-reflection on the roles of my parents and step-parents. Then, I made a command decision that changed everything.

I read books, searched blogs, went to therapy, and finally decided that I was going to build my own style of parenting. A complete start-from-scratch. I don’t have to abide by rules or schedules or gender roles that don’t work for my family. I don’t have to do what my mom and dad did. I can try new and different parenting suggestions/styles/tips and if they work, great! If they don’t, I can move along.

I am a Millennial, and I have so many tools and outlets available to me. Google, parenting blogs and forums, scientific reports, podcasts; just think of how much more we know about parenting and raising great kids compared to 10, 15, 35 years ago. In addition, we have advances in neuroscience, learning development, and mental health. Not to mention, modern dads are more active than any previous generation. The parenting game will always be a challenge, but it helps knowing you’ve got resources.

I’m grateful to Mary for letting me partner with her, to help marry Occupational Therapy science to Modern Parenting. It’s my hope we can provide useful information that is not only accessible, but also easily adaptable for you and your family.

Thank you and stay childish,

The Child(ish) Dad

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L
The Child(ish) Dad Series

We recognize that child-rearing and -raising primarily falls on the mother, leaving a lot of dads on the outside looking in. How can we bring more dads into the fold and actively engage them in the world of child development?

This is the first in a new blog series, showcasing fathers’ perspectives on parenting, child development, and their advice to fellow and future dads. Welcome to the Child(ish) Dad!

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