Our idea of wealth is not just about how rich your pockets are, but how rich your life is, and our goal is to showcase melanated women who embrace this notion and inspire us to live boldly and rewrite our stories. The Wellthy Woman makes space for her joy and her pain, laughter and tears, success and mistakes, strength and vulnerability. Fostering this idea of individual and collective healing, she is not afraid to learn or share, and understands that it takes both in order to heal and grow.
We excited about this Wellthy Woman feature, Michelle Harris, a licensed social worker and Founder/CEO of Parenting Pathfinders. We have been following her on social media and love the way she enriches our lives by teaching us how to parent differently. Many of us grew up with a seen but not heard, do as I say, because I said so background and Michelle has this brilliant, approachable way of getting us to connect with our kids in a different way and joyfully raise them. Take a look below to learn more about Michelle and Parenting Pathfinders.
Michelle Harris, LCSW, MA
Founder/CEO Parenting Pathfinders
Tell us more about Parenting Pathfinders and why you created it.
Parenting Pathfinders is an online counseling service that provides parents and caregivers with practical tools and strategies to help them effectively address many of the challenges that can come along when raising children. Our sessions, virtual workshops, and webinars also support families in creating a home culture that values inclusion, challenges biases, and teaches anti-racism. Caregivers learn how to support their child’s social and emotional development through the use of effective strategies, age-appropriate language, and mindfulness techniques.
I created Parenting Pathfinders to make parenting support easily accessible to caregivers everywhere. I want to help families learn how to address challenges mindfully and by building upon their family’s strengths and their children’s strengths. My mission is to inspire and empower caregivers to make positive changes and experience more joy in parenting.
How do you find that balance between remaining intentional about your own mental wellness while educating parents on how to be more mindful with their children?
I try my best to practice the same mindfulness strategies that I share; it can be tough sometimes, but mindfulness is a practice, and I strive to focus on progress, not perfection. I also take time to fill my emotional cup – sometimes, it’s through yoga or exercise, other times it’s having a cup of tea and putting my phone away or incorporating time for rejuvenating rest into my day.
What’s one piece of advice that you’d give to melanated mothers who are trying to be mindful parents but also mindful of themselves especially during the pandemic?
Practice self-compassion.
