The Decolonial Parent

a continuous work in progress

  • Decolonization is never done: a model for reflecting on decolonial parenting

    Decolonization is never done: a model for reflecting on decolonial parenting

    Sitting down to write a reflection post on our journey so far got me thinking about how we measure success, both as parents and people working on decolonizing our minds and relationships. I propose a model for reviewing our parenting, that I’ll be using myself in the coming months.

  • Battling the overwhelm

    Battling the overwhelm

    We are getting so good at taking the path of least resistance that we are losing the skills to hard things: critical thinking, creative writing, conversation. Are we really ready to let AI do the thinking for us? Is this the world we want to give our children, or can we take back our skills…

  • Hopeful holidays and special days

    Hopeful holidays and special days

    As much as I want to instill a sense of responsibility, reflection, and connection in everything we do, I recognize this needs to happen in proportion to the magic of childhood, too, especially when it comes ro festivals.

  • On being an older mother

    On being an older mother

    The biggest thing I’ve experienced coming into motherhood at the cusp of middle age is the sheer wonder I have for something that almost passed me by. I almost decided not to have any kids, but I just couldn’t fully commit to that decision, and I guess this is why.

  • Parenting in an age of genocide

    Parenting in an age of genocide

    This cannot be the world we want to raise our children in. Thankfully for now, my child is too young to observe, note, or understand the atrocities taking place (in Gaza principally but not solely), but how can we explain to them how we are watching this horror show unfold like it’s just another Netflix…

  • Not gentle parenting but conscious parenting

    Not gentle parenting but conscious parenting

    Of course I want my kid to be tough enough to navigate the brutal world that lies ahead, but I don’t believe that tough love is the only way to achieve this. I do want him to be more emotionally healthy than I was growing up, and I recognize the value of gentle parenting in…

  • Colonialism, capitalism, climate – and us

    Colonialism, capitalism, climate – and us

    What can we do in the face of the power and resources of increasingly emboldened climate criminals? How can we fight for the planet and teach our children it’s worth saving?

  • Sustainable living (the personal kind)

    Sustainable living (the personal kind)

    As the primary caregiver of a breastfed, contact-napping, cosleeping, velcro baby, I need to find ways to top up my cup in the slivers of time I get to claim as mine. I can’t wait for a day off, or even until nap-time, so what can I do instead? These are my main tactics:

  • Liniment oléo-calcaire

    Liniment oléo-calcaire

    Multicultural life is exhausting, so it’s soothing to find things that feel like wins. Something like, being able to pull from multiple different cultures. Yes, I genuinely pick and choose what part of each culture I want to keep and what I want to ignore. I believe that sticking to things “because that’s how we’ve…

  • How we cloth diaper

    How we cloth diaper

    Maybe we got lucky but we feel like it has been pretty easy to cloth diaper our baby. We decided early on in pregnancy that we were going to give it our best shot, and spoke to a lot of parents who started then stopped or who intended to cloth diaper but then didn’t. Based…

  • Breastfeeding is hard – my story

    Breastfeeding is hard – my story

    This is a read best left for those who are seeking reassurance and solidarity in their breastfeeding struggles.

  • Notes from Confinement

    Notes from Confinement

    These are the incomplete ramblings of a new parent in the first weeks of my child’s life. Questions welcome!

Figuring it out too? We’d love to hear from you!