Welcome to We Nurture

This blog was created as a space to contemplate the bigger picture of what we’re doing raising and educating children. The aim is to grow profound confidence and trust in our capacity to nurture the children in our lives with the values we would like to see come into fruition in society. We Nurture focuses on growing social awareness, environmentalism, well-being and curiosity in ourselves and the children we care for. If this interests you, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to We Nurture.

Culture is a thing we do

Culture is a thing we do. As humans, we make culture. The little things we do express our values and pass them on, to our neighbours, our colleagues but most of all to the children in our midst. They are trying to figure out right from wrong and they look at us to show them the way. No pressure, right?!

Ever wonder if you are doing it right? You are not the only one. Caught up in the everyday rat race, we’re rarely able to take time to pause and put the little activities that make up a day into the bigger picture of shaping a family or classroom culture. Whether you are a teacher or a parent, a nanny or an aunt, if we give ourselves the time to ponder upon what we would like to accomplish with our interactions with children, this may give us a sense of direction and an anker to navigate around. It’s We Nurture objective to create that space to think and grow profound confidence and trust in our capacity to nurture in children the values we would like to see come into fruition in society.

There is no single effort more radical in its potential to positively impact society than a transformation of the way we raise our children.

This is my adaptation of a quote by Marianne Williamson. It perfectly captures the intention behind We Nurture. We often think of politics as the thing we do when going to the voting ballots every few years. Yet our everyday actions are actually politically much more powerful. First of all, because we have much greater control over them. Secondly, because they shape our lives and the lives of those we meet on a daily basis directly. And thirdly, precisely because it is a lived experience, it shapes our mindstates, our cultures, our way of being in the world on a deeper level. We don’t need to be reminded of the things we do every day. They are part of us.

As an educator, a former nanny, an anthropologist and a child coach in training, I bring to this platform the research I did over the years based on the issues that arose in my work with children combined with my experience in putting those recommendations into practice. I write about these experiences hoping they will help you on your path as a nurturer. You may disagree with some of my views. That is OK. If the content makes you stop to think and make conscious decisions about your daily interactions with children, my mission has been accomplished.

Share your experiences

Please feel free to share your experiences. It is my intention to grow We Nurture into a community of thinkers and doers, who support one another by sharing how they turn their values into daily habits with the children in their lives.

Childhood, the fundament of our humanity

I do this work because what happens in childhood, doesn’t stay in childhood. In fact, childhood is the foundation on which adulthood is built. Working for an NGO, I have seen a few juvenile prisons on the inside. Speaking to the children behind bars, it is clear they can’t be fully held responsible for their actions, since they lacked so much so early in life. If we want less crime, less destruction, less discrimination, taking a critical look at how we raise and educate children is a great place to start.

Scientific research offers guidance

Nurturing children is a complicated job. No two kids are alike, so there is no manual. However there is a lot of research out there, that can provide some kind of guidance. Putting science-backed recommendations into practice and researching that which I see works on practice to understand why is exactly the kind of creative work that I get excited about. I hope you will join me on this journey and share your experiences and resources so that this platform can grow into a community.

Coaching

If you’re looking for a child coach and you feel we could be a match, please reach out to me at info@we-nurture.com. I look forward to hearing from you. I’m also developing courses around different themes. If you sign up for the newsletter, I will keep you posted.