Tara Hunkin is a nutritional therapy practitioner, certified GAPS practitioner, mother, and founder of My Child Will Thrive, a community of support for parents with children that have been diagnosed or suspected of a neurodevelopmental disorder. After struggling to find answers from doctors while trying to find her own daughter help, Tara realized that it was up to her to get the results that she needed. Passionate about helping parents who have been in her shoes, Tara created My Child Will Thrive to share her own journey of raising a special needs child, and bring awareness and support to the community.
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Tara believes that by implementing self-care strategies and paying attention to your own needs, you will, in turn, help yourself have a healthy and happy child. Today Tara dives into some common themes that parents of special needs children experience more profoundly than others, how to find balance and avoid conflict when deciding what is the right course of action for your child, and ways to bridge the expectation gap to increase support in your relationship.
Often parents today get stuck in the ‘sandwich generation’, taking care of not only our parents and senior citizens but also our children. This leaves very little time for ourselves and can elevate your stress and diminish your time and sleep. Tara is an advocate for filing your own cup first, and focusing on simple and easy ways to keep your family functioning better, such as proper hydration and restful sleep.
Every situation with a special needs child is unique, which is why it is important to keep the lines of communication open and improve your own health and wellbeing so that your child follows suit. Tara is providing simple lifestyle changes to help you celebrate your wins and cut yourself some slack.
Do you or someone you know need some support in raising a special needs child? Share what techniques you use in the comments below.
In This Episode
- Ways to improve your own health and wellbeing and how to relay it to your child
- How your lack of sleep could be reducing empathy in your relationship
- Proper hydration and blood sugar management tips for both you and your kids
- Simple hacks to get more sleep into your parenthood routine and elevate your stress
- Why you should be talking to your practitioner about adrenal adaptogen support
Quotes
“I like to talk about all the things that we can do for ourselves that will bring great results for children whether they have a special need or not.” (4:32)
“Sometimes we have these limiting beliefs that we can’t go to bed as soon as our children go to bed because we have all these other things to do, at some point, you have to decide if getting the laundry done is as important as getting your sleep.” (14:00)
“You probably know yourself very well at this point, so you want to use the hacks that work.” (19:50)
“No two children are exactly the same, and I wish we had a prescriptive plan for everybody that would work for everybody the same and do wonders for every child, but it’s not. It’s an individualized journey.” (24:25)
“Comparison is the thief of joy, and with social media these days we are always comparing how we are parenting to how someone else is parenting. Whether they have a special needs child or not, comparing our children to other children, it doesn’t serve us at all.” (37:28)
Links
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My Child Will Thrive Podcast and Blog
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