The Parenting Writer

Hello All,

We’re back from our holiday and I feel I should introduce myself a little and my parenting qualifications :D  It feels a bit strange to be ‘The Parenting Writer,’ almost as if I know what I’m doing.  I have two gorgeous girls, 2 and almost 5.  I’m married and we live in the Northern Territory, about 500km north of Alice Springs (the middle of the map for non-Australians).  I’ve been in remote towns and communities for the last 12 years, mostly teaching then at home with my girls.  I’m a full time stay at home Mum, although I try to treat my blog as a part-time job when they are in bed.  And now the 2 year old isn’t waking 5 times a night (that’s not a typo) life is much easier.

I’m the ‘hippy parent’ at playgroup (and I’m a scientist, it spins people out) with cloth bummed, part-time co-sleeping, WHO babies, but don’t let that put you off – some of my best friends use disposables ;)  That’s a joke, but it’s also true.  Because every one of our parenting decisions, from me being home to the type of nappies we use, have been made to suit our family and keep everyone in it happy as best we could.  And they’ve been made on the circumstances at the time – our first had a cot, the second had reflux and our bed was the only way any of us could sleep.  So I’m not going to use this blog as a platform to try to influence other people’s parenting to be the same as mine, just talk about things that have happened to us along the way and how we came out with sanity intact and still liking each other.

I used to be completely uptight and I am still a massive victim of mother-guilt, but I’m learning to go with the flow and enjoy it.  Embarrassing story: when my eldest was born I created a colour coded spreadsheet so I could track what she was doing in 15 minute blocks, with the ability to break it down to 5 minutes and add detailed notes.  In my defence she was a very bad sleeper and it did make me feel calmer and more in control, which was probably a good thing, but looking back it’s hilarious.  Now I don’t even own a watch that goes, which can make the pre-school run interesting.

I see my role on here as letting other Mums know they aren’t alone and chatting about raising my kids, hopefully other people will get some ideas along the way.  Parenting is something I think about and reflect on deeply, it is my full time job, and as part of that reflection I’d love feedback and ideas from other people.  But my parenting philosophy is pretty simple – I want my girls to grow up to be happy and that’s something they need to work on, not wait for.  I think there are certain skills that will help them achieve it, so it’s my job to support them while they develop those skills.

That’s what I’m planning on focusing on for these posts, unless you guys tell me differently.  Ask questions, give me suggestions, tell me to tone it down – posts about cloth nappies and cute kids are always an option!