World of Wacky and Wonderful Names

Here is a list of names, my top 10 unique names of real children I've met.

1) Love
2) McKay
3) Fox
4) Royal
5) Tovh
6) Wilde
7) Banksy
8) Majik
9) Thor
10) Ryder

But Who Am I Anyway?

I'm a child and youth care worker and a nanny. I've been taking care of newborn babies for fourteen years and I have been a nanny/babysitter for over 200 families now (because many of the families are from out-of-town). I'm also a birth and postpartum doula -more on that later. I love kids. I love babies. I'm really not so good with teens. Because of my different roles, I've worked with a vast range of families. African refugees, parents and children with disabilities, blended-families, same-sex couples, old parents, teen parents, parents with only-children, parents with many children, mixed-race families, hippie families, tech-addicted families, multilingual families, grandparents raising grandkids, wealthy families, socioeconomically-low families. You get the picture; all kinds of families. 
I was getting my hair done a while back and started going on about a set of adorable siblings when the hairdresser cut me off and said- you need to blog! People want to read that stuff! I like to write, I like to reflect, so I thought- sure, what the heck?

Like Night and Day

If you're a new mom or dad, you may think that most other parents do it just like you. Even though little Riley says 'Aiden's mom lets him,' every time he wants a cookie before dinner or a sleepover on a weeknight, you're pretty confident in your parenting style.
Parenting is common sense more or less, right? Wrong. 
But wait- Why am I making so many assumptions of you as a parent? Don't I know that you have a strong educational background and a plethora of parenting friends? Sure, I get it. You're smart, you know that families differ. You also know that you have options when it comes to taking care of the kids. But, you would be surprised at some things. Take my word for it. From cereal at breakfast to story time at bed; parents just do it differently. Vastly different. So differently in fact that I've dedicated this blog to telling tales about the various families I've worked with. I'll expose oddest-ever baby names, most interesting house decor, the weirdest things kids have ever told me and unconventional family routines. It's fascinating actually. For the most part, there's no right or wrong way to rear your children. My objective is not to point out faults or triumphs but to illustrate the unique intricacies of families. Life is exciting because we are all so diverse. Read. Laugh. Learn.
I hope you enjoy my blog :)