As I post my first blog on our new Family Talk About Drinking website, I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce myself and share our hopes for the blog as a resource for parents.

I’m MJ – an educator and a parent coach, and I was the director of an early childhood center for a wonderful school district in St. Louis. I have more than 25 years of experience working with children and families. But above all, I’m also a parent. And although my children are grown now, I still remember the way I felt when I first became a parent.

Parenting is somewhat of an unknown phenomenon. Parents try to do their best – we listen to advice from our friends and families, we read books – and yet everyone still has so many questions.

When I first became a parent, I realized that although I was an educator and a teacher, I really didn’t know very much about parenting.

Being in education, my first approach was to read. But I realized that no matter how many books I read, I still had a lot of questions. I wanted a sound resource or really, just someone to listen. And that’s when I realized that’s exactly what I loved doing – listening, helping and talking about kids.

That led to the start of my career as a parent coach, and I’ve been doing this now for more than 10 years. I coach families, moms and dads, kids – and the model works, because it’s all based on the possibilities. We look at what’s working and what isn’t working, and we create a plan of action together.

Through my work I’ve had the privilege to partner with Anheuser-Busch to create a coaching resource for parents that’s relevant and helpful, no matter how old your kids are.

The most rewarding part of my job is watching children and parents dig deep within themselves and bring out the strengths they have inside to move forward – seeing the confidence and the joy that parents and kids have for doing something positive.

So, what do I hope parents take away from my blog?

There are lots of tough topics and issues out there when you’re trying to parent. I want parents to be inspired to do things differently if things aren’t working for them. I want parents to have hope and know they have the support they need to help them better connect with their children and make a difference in their lives. If parents feel like this is a valuable resource to help them do that, then I’ve done my job.

I’ll cover a variety of topics that are relevant to parents – from finding ways to grow along with your kids to learning how to set boundaries and build trust – and I look forward to hearing your feedback. You’ll also have the opportunity to submit questions or topics you’d like addressed through our website  and Facebook page.

So let’s get started!