Learn With Less: For Families With Infants And Toddlers… or Why Strength In Words is Getting A New Home

Early Parenthood Is Isolating When I initially started my business, I was a pediatric speech-language pathologist with a brand new baby living as an expat in a foreign land.  I came up with a plan to woo other new parents and caregivers to want to hang out with me.  Because, although I certainly experienced my share of the deep vulnerability, incredible lack of confidence, and insane level of overwhelm and anxiety that affects many new parents… One thing I DID know about was how to play with a baby.  I wasn’t worried that I was “doing it wrong” or “doing enough.”  I didn’t feel that, when it came to early development, I was “just winging it.” But I found, as I started leading  part play groups / part parent support groups out of my home, that many of my fellow new parents did feel that way. So I started showing my new friends simple ideas for supporting and connecting with their babies (and as our children grew) and toddlers.  I showed them how to take simple objects, like the empty toilet paper roll, and use it to support a baby’s understanding about important developmental concepts.  I showed them why everyday routines, like changing a dirty diaper or putting on your shoes, are often the most powerful moments for learning.  I had come up with a name for my website (knowing nothing about websites), and started blogging for fun.  I called my site “Strength In Words,” a play on my language specialist roots, a nod to my hometown (go, Warriors!), and an allusion to the fact that what we do and how we speak to our children as parents in those first few years has an enormous impact on the way they learn language and other developmental milestones. But it never really felt like it was quite the right name. But as my work became more and more focused on creating online content to reach a broader audience, I stuck with it.  Strength In Words was the name of my business, my brand, my podcast… But it didn’t say what I do, straightaway. It didn’t scream,  “I help families with infants and toddlers feel confident they can raise a great human from day one – without having to buy a single toy!” But then, I published my first book.  And things started to come together. The first book, Understanding Your Baby, was, in written form, what I had done with my friends during that very special postpartum period. And then I wrote my second book, Understanding Your Toddler, which finished out the foundation. And now, I had something. I had a foundation.  I could see, SO much more clearly, what I had been trying to build all along, but hadn’t yet had the words for. I wasn’t just talking about the strength of our words, the importance of early communication… I was helping families see how they could support all areas of development.