“This is the best day ever!”
– said my kiddos almost every day!
Hearing these words creates the greatest feelings- for them and for their parents, and for me, their teacher and guide.
Hi! My name is Meagan!
First and foremost -I am a parent- bio and foster!
Professionally, I am a ~Parent-Child Communication Consultant. (A fancy way of saying that I help parents discover how to get their kids to listen!)
I’m the designer and host of the group Connected Kids Thrive Community and creator of
The Connecting in the Kitchen Method: a 12 week/12 module, step-by-step, 1:1 weekly coaching program that will take you from feeling frustrated and guilty to feeling calm, confident, and equipped in your parenting journey.
About me
I am from colorful Colorado and flat-as-ever Texas! I am a nature lover and outdoor enthusiast! I love horseback riding, 4-wheeling, camping, paddle boarding- you name it, I’m all in!
My husband and I currently have one daughter, and my family is in the process of adopting another kiddo. We are very excited about that!
We enjoy taking all the extra and ongoing parenting training that is required so that we understand more about trauma and behavior. It has made us a better team as parents with each other and for our bio kid for sure! I appreciate being able to learn and apply strategies, tweak them, and share them.
In the text below, I will reveal how the experiences from my education, my preschool, and my time as a pediatric communication specialist led me to where I am today- here with you! My formal and informal backgrounds come with multiple experiences in the realm of early childhood, specialized development, and working closely with families.
Education
My undergrad education is in communication delays and disorders, and I used to serve children as a Speech and Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA).
I have naturally always focused my work in pediatrics – my love language is absolutely working in the realm of Littles!
Preschool/Childcare
In the not so recent past, due to the first layoff of my husband, I suddenly needed to work, but finding a childcare setting that felt right for our 3 yr old became a depleting and impossible task. So I was compelled to design and operate my own nature and play-based childcare/preschool.
Great idea right!?!? Easy peasy!
Well, as you can probably imagine, suddenly guiding 6 kiddos wasn’t as “easy peasy” as I assumed it would be. Sure, I had all the educational brain-science theory stuff in my pocket, but no actual clue on how to guide kids.
My group of kiddos quickly helped me discover that I needed to figure out how to entice them to WANT to listen to me and to each other. We simply could not have our days filled with frustration and punishments. We had way too many fun experiences we needed to have. **And, after all, parents would not appreciate or accept a setting where there was yelling, punishments, or even too many tears. Nor should they! Childhood is too precious. Plus, I wanted to enjoy myself as well. I hated the feeling of so much stress, guilt, and overwhelm.
Additionally, it was readily apparent that one must treat other people’s children at a certain standard even above their own -if necessary. That was becoming my reality. Simply put- it was glaringly clear that I needed more actual skills. So I got them!
**We unofficially became known as the “Little Hiking and Cooking Preschool.” We had a blast- day in and day out! Our frustrations were low, and our cooperation and connection were through the roof!
It was my preschool kiddos who really helped inspire me to learn what was developmentally appropriate and how to honor them in all areas- socially and academically. It was also they who helped me discover how vital cooking with children is.
Through a bit of trial and error, the setting I was able to provide for the children was incredible! We had a mud kitchen and small farm animals, and we collected eggs everyday, built dams, went crawdad fishing, hiking, etc. Again, even above all of that, the children loved cooking. So to honor that need, we pretty much cooked our organic meals every single day!
I discovered how I could easily and naturally embed any skill- physical, social/emotional, academic, etc. -that I wanted to teach into our cooking sessions. Those ranged from sharing and turn-taking to manners, patience, math, higher level vocabulary, etc. It was all available to us through cooking together! And best of all, the children’s cooperation and connection with each other and with me was unparalleled!! It was absolutely incredible!
It was these children who taught me so much! I owe everything to them!
It was a marvelous experience, and I often have nostalgia for those days! In fact, I am compelled once again to create a developmentally appropriate, child-centered setting. Only this time, I’m including the families as well!
Parents want to be with their kiddos! They want to play with their children. There are just so many barriers on time and actual know-how. And parents often fear that frustrations and cooperation and communication breakdowns will sneak in and ruin experiences. This is just because the tools aren’t known yet.
So, once again, at parental request, I’m happy to reveal that I am currently designing my own nature-based playschool for families! (Link about that at end of doc.)
My preschool time was an unbelievable experience- one that I would still be practicing today- but my husband was laid off again. Yep!
So we moved again.
And, as with all life shifts, they also come with great gifts!
Early Childhood Intervention
In our new town, I was able to serve my community in a different capacity as an Early Childhood Interventionist focusing on pediatric developmental communication delays and disorders. I had the honor of working within an interdisciplinary team of pediatric OTs, PTs, DIs, and SLPs, (Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Developmental Interventionists, and Speech Language Pathologists).
Being able to work with these professionals in serving families gave me an opportunity to understand how to look at and ensure the whole child was honored and served for better learning and outcomes. It was a blast investigating the “why” behind a behavior and really looking at all possible angles. Parents loved learning how to try different approaches to get better responses from their children.
Serving in this capacity, with this whole-child intention, was so rewarding because I was able to work closely with families in helping them learn how to approach and teach their child how to follow directions and get their needs met in appropriate/productive ways.
Helping families overcome many frustrations within everyday routines/rhythms like: bathtime, eating, mealtime, grocery store challenges, playdate issues, coobaking together, leaving the park, etc. all those moments of not listening that end up in meltdowns – so they could have more functional, cooperative, and peaceful homes- was such rewarding work!
Their lives were changed and so was mine!
While working with these families, giving them the tools to help guide and connect with their children, parents regularly gave some semblance of this statement:
“Jeez, I wish I would have had these tools and strategies when my other children were little. Our lives would have been so much easier. Our relationship wouldn’t have had to suffer all those years.”
***Then these parents would go on to talk about how the strategies they were learning would also help their relatives with their own children.
Ding-Ding-Ding!
That’s the thing: the same strategies I taught families in the therapy setting are just as powerful for ALL families! Regular, everyday families simply do not have easy access to these evidenced-based, effective communication-based parenting techniques.
These parents literally pleaded and convinced me to create a course where they could learn these strategies in a digestible way. Parents want a proven process so they can quickly learn the simple, effective strategies to help them communicate better with their kiddos- so their kiddos are more cooperative with them.
Parents are sick of yelling at their kids. They are so tired of dishing out punishments and reaction-based discipline tactics so often. Parents are stressed out by the guilt and utter overwhelm and feeling so lost and alone.
And similarly, children are sick of being yelled at and being punished all the time. Confidence for so many parents and for kids is diminishing. Feelings of self worth are compromised.
Parents want more cooperative relationships with their kids so their cooperation and connection can remain unbroken throughout the days. They want positive memories for their children where happiness and harmony outnumber the unhappiness and chaos.
All of that is why I created my program and do the work that I do!
I am fulfilling my effort to ensure ALL parents have access to this information so that parent-child relationships are restored and remain intact. All people, big and small, deserve to feel heard and respected.
Parenting from an intentional, communication, response-based approach and not a reactive and force-based approach is not intuitive.
Even though society and our cultures would like us to believe that we should know all the strategies automatically, that is an unfortunate fallacy and completely impossible and contributes to the problem and ongoing suffering. Effective parenting is a skill to be developed, just like any other. If we want to do better, we have to learn the skills to be and do better.
We have to decide what kind of parents we want and need to be- for ourselves and for our children. Do we repeat generational patterns passed down from our parents or even continue our own dysfunctional patterns? If not, then we need to empower ourselves to learn and practice the skills to get to where we want to be.
Cycle Breaking
Of course, I have my own childhood history that compels me to do better.
I can respect my parents and believe to my fullest that they did the best they could with what they knew. But the hitting, yelling, and fear is something I wanted to shift away from. I repeated many familial patterns until there was that one defining moment that changed everything and shifted my parenting journey trajectory.
Many parents share a similar defining moment that compels them to do better.
Do you too have a defining moment? Or is it a compilation of everything that has you wanting to do better?
Science and Trends
Science and data trends are revealing that hitting kids and using physical/fear/force-based punishments as preferred parenting tactics are on the decline. That is a positive shift for sure, but now many parents seem stuck. They don’t want unruly, disrespectful kids either. Parents want better ways!
I am so humbled and honored to have combined all my experiences, the good and bad, to put a parenting program together in honor of all parents- to give them better ways!
Though I created my program at the request of past parent clients, I get to continue to impact parents and children all over the world! That is the coolest feeling!
Purpose
I have been put on this planet to live and play in the realm of children. Serving parents with this intention- sharing intentional, communication-based, respectful, conscious, guiding approaches and strategies- is what I was meant to do. And that is how I make an impact and change my small corner of the world for the better.
I absolutely love what I get to do!!! Helping other parents helps me keep my own parenting elevated, keeps me questioning and learning, and ensures I’m consistently trying new approaches and enhancing my skills.
This was my motivation to start:
“I wish I would have had these tools for my other children when they were little. It’s not fair. Will you please create a program for regular everyday parents?”
I did!
And I leave you with this motivation:
“When we learn how to do better, we are able to do better.” ~MD
~This concept applies for our children of course. And it also applies to us.~
I think that is all I have for now!
I hope this gave you a bit of insight into how I came to this place here with you!
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If you are interested in learning more about my program The Connecting in the Kitchen Method, and how it uniquely benefits parents and children, read more about it HERE.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and learn more about me and why I do what I do!
I’d love to learn more about you and your story!
Reach out to me if you are interested in sharing any thoughts, have any curiosities, or have any questions!
I look forward to chatting with you!
Cheers!
With intentional communication and connection,
~Meagan
~Family-Child Communication Consultant
P.S. – If you have any other questions about me or anything else, please do not hesitate to reach out to me either via pm (fb private messenger) or via email at meagan@connectedkidsthrive.com
-If you would like to chat live and take a deeper look into what’s going on with you and your kiddos, book a free call HERE.
P.P.S. – If you haven’t yet joined our facebook community of parents all dedicated to elevated parenting, join here >> Connected Kids Thrive Community | Facebook
–If you are interested in discovering more about the magical benefits of cooking with children, read HERE.
–If you were interested in learning more about my family playschool, read more about that HERE.
–Here is the link to my past preschool and a tribute to those little ones who taught me so much.
***Oh, if you were interested more about The Birth of a Word – that fascinating study regarding the benefits of the kitchen and language acquisition, find the link in the Cooking with our Kiddos doc HERE.
Enjoy!
Thank you!
~Meagan Duncan
with Connected Kids Thrive–