Hey there!
I know how much you want to be a loving parent. I also know that if you tried to consume every resource that exists on parenting, your child would grow up and you’d still be learning. So, what do you really need to know?
From working with moms and dads, babies and children, researchers and educators, there’s one thing that matters more than anything else: how well do you know your child? Because that little person growing inside you or right next to you is already a separate human being—with interests, talents, quirks, and more. Some of who they are has already been decided and much of it will become their life’s work.
The joy and challenge of knowing your child intersects with how well you know yourself. Because it’s not just about the child growing up under your care, you too are the grown child of someone else. And guess what? As a parent, you will also continue to grow. That means when it comes to raising kids, it’s not just child development. It’s about parent development too.
I didn’t set out to become a parenting expert. In fact, my first love was children. I was just seven years old when my mom opened a childcare center at our church. I spent my summer days “working” alongside her, where I discovered a new favorite activity: reading all the files! The combination of what parents said about their children and the experience of knowing them fascinated me. Back then, my thoughts around who I wanted to be when I grew up always started with becoming a mom. Between my own children, degrees in home economics, education, and human development, and the many years spent leading early childhood programs, “becoming a mom” or “becoming a parent” has taken on new meaning.
Today, I am honored to share both wisdom and science with parents. Raising children in our modern age has some unique challenges, and I want to help moms and dads expand their parenting checklist to include connection, belonging, and purpose. I want your journey as a parent to be as rich and fulfilling as your dreams of becoming one. And I want to help you give your child the gift of being known by the very people they’re wired to connect with and love.
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“Ann has a heart for children as well as mothers and families. She has been an incredible influence on my mothering and my growth as a person. When I was a young mom, she encouraged me and helped me see little ways I could connect with my children right where they were and to slow down to enjoy it. Years have gone by and I am still drawing from the well she helped dig in my life. I never discount a child. Ann taught me to recognize the joy in knowing people of all ages for who they are not what they could or should be.” Jennifer Allen