I am a parent of two children with anxiety and sensory processing issues.

 

At times it is overwhelming, at other times it is rewarding, and the fact that every day is different makes parenting quite the journey! When my oldest was entering kindergarten and my youngest started to show really big emotions I felt so unprepared in how to parent them.

 

Where was the playbook for this? Why couldn’t I help them? Why did I feel lost? Why was nothing I tried working?

 

I felt helpless at times and wanted to change the trajectory of my relationship with my kids so I started asking questions, I started researching, I started empowering myself with information about systems and senses.

 

I learned that even though my children’s diagnoses are the same, the way they process information and move through the world is very different. One is a sensory seeker and one is a sensory avoider. One can go into fight mode really quickly and the other tends to freeze. But what exactly did all that mean and how could I use that information to help them? Well, that is what led me to becoming a kid’s yoga instructor!

 

My journey in gaining knowledge about movement, mindfulness, breathing and leading with compassion changed how I viewed my children’s behavior. I had years of getting triggered when my children’s impulsivity or anxiety grew, and that pattern was what was overwhelming me.

 

I was triggered because I wasn’t looking at the world through their lens, I was looking at it through my own.

 

I started to recognize that their actions were in direct correlation to how they felt. The more out of control they were on the outside showed that they were completely disconnected and out of control on the inside.

 

When play or imagination was a part of my interaction with them the less power struggle we had and the connection was stronger.

 

This is who I am as a parent and this is why I founded Tranquil Little One, LLC. All children are worthy of feeling comfortable in their body and mind and if they are having an off day they deserve to feel empowered with tools to help them.

 

Parenting is a journey and meeting our child “where they are at” can be difficult at times, it is my mission to help parents gain knowledge and tools that they can have on the ready. Let's shift our focus from challenging issues to positive insights.