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hi,I’m Avital.(pronounced Ah-Vee-Tal)
I’m a mindful parenting coach, childhood designer, and mother. My work is dedicated to empower intentional, imperfect parents (like you and me!) to love parenting and parent from love…
My work is dedicated to inspiring intentional parents, like you and me, to Love and enjoy parenting. Hint: there’s no such thing as perfect parenting. You’re doing great.
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The Parenting
Junkie Show
Find the episodes on the exact issue that’s troubling you – From how to teach your baby to sleep to whether or not you should use consequences, there are hundreds of episodes that will inspire, validate and encourage you on this parenting journey.
Free Childhood Design Guide
Discover how you CAN transform your home into a Play Inducing Haven. In this guide of 10 Easy Steps you’ll learn how to lay the foundation to presence, play and peace in your own home.
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Courses & Memberships
Don’t let your anxieties, your past or your cultural norms hold you back from being the parent you’re meant to be. From learning how to set limits without yelling, punishing, bribing or counting to three – to learning how to design a home environment that induces deep, independent, therapeutic play in your child. From solving sibling conflicts without tension to reestablishing a deep connection with your partner and coparent – The Parenting Junkie courses are designed for busy parents who don’t want to look back and wonder where the time went.
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“The moment I watched the first video (and video after video thereafter) I felt connected to everything she was saying. They changed my life and I am forever grateful.”
Bekah
“Her voice is a collection of countless experts, sprinkled with her own understanding and experiences as a mother.”
Eevi
“I felt like I stumbled upon a gold mine when I discovered your channel! I have been able to learn so much from listening to your videos, and I definitely wanted to buy your course when it first came out.”
Emily
“With your help I have learned (and still practicing) empathy toward my son and compassion for myself. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Jennifer
“I watch your videos almost every day. They help me stay focused on my goal of loving parenting.”
Beth
“I absolutely love Avital’s approach and outlook on life and parenting. She always knows exactly what to say, without casting judgement upon any of the parents’ opinions and parenting decisions. I love her metaphors and explanations she uses throughout her videos.”
Eevi
“Your videos have completely rewired my approach to parenting.”
Lia
“I watch or have your videos playing in the background almost every day. They help me stay focused on my goal of loving parenting.”
Beth
When you support your kids, you support kids in need.
The Parenting Junkie pledges to support important change in the world
by donating a percentage of profits to children in need.
Dr. Shefali Tsabary
Author of The Conscious Parent and Out of Control
“A WONDERFUL concept. So many parents need this kind of instruction! Avital’s work opens up an emotionally intelligent dialogue for parents to focus on approaching parenting consciously.”
Dr. Laura Markham
Author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids and Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings
“Watch The Parenting Junkie to keep peaceful parenting top of mind for you. Avital offers sound, smart advice that will shift the parenting paradigm to a deeper, more mindful approach.”
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Imagine that instead of brushing your kid’s teeth every day, you decided to wait until they’re 16.
The side effects of this choice would be…
😝 Bad breath
😬 Plaque build-up and discoloration
🦷 Toothaches and cavities…
and eventually, BIG $$$$$ at the dentist for treatment.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Of course, this is not a good plan!
I'm going to assume you would rather create a small, manageable daily habit that invests in our child’s oral hygiene to last a lifetime.
Because we know:
It might be a pain to get started and stay consistent, but over the long haul, it will save you so much pain, $$$, and grossness.🤢
And it's the same with, independence.
If you invest a little bit in your child’s independent play right now - taking small, manageable steps every day to maintain and establish healthy habits - you will reap the benefits over time.
A tough-love moment here - it’s not realistic to wait until your child is 16 and then suddenly expect them to be independent enough to drive or get their first job or figure out a plan for the summer.
These are skills you’ve got to build slowly and gradually.
It’s also not desirable to spend the next decade suffering through burnout, exhaustion, clinginess - because you’re not making the little investment that it takes to establish healthy independent play habits (just as it’s not awesome to endure cavities, toothache, and bad breath for years - rather than invest in establishing healthy brushing habits early on).
So I guess my message is: Don’t wait with this.
When we neglect our child’s need for independence - it gets worse, not better.
But when you take the time to follow along with the small, daily, doable actions that are outlined in the Reclaim Play Challenge - it will pay off in spades years later!
That’s why you’re here.
You can do this. 💪
It’s SO worth it. The small actions you’re taking now are going to pay back dividends... forever.
Reclaim Play is all unlocked! Link in bio
“𝗗𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲!” my daughter said. Not gonna lie, I draw a mean horse. 🐎 So I did. She watched me, wide-eyed, so impressed. So excited. So grateful! A beautiful moment, right?
I thought so. “𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘈𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭!” I thought, patting myself on the back.
After she colored it in she said: “𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘄?” 🧜♀️
“𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦?”
“𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝘄 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂.”
oomph.
My heart sunk just a little bit. 😟
In my well-meaning attempt to answer my daughter’s sweet request - I had undermined her own creativity.
I had shown her that I, the adult, was more developed, more skilled, more capable - so much so that she might as well not even try.
Why try when she could never measure up to the mermaid that I can produce?
Look, it’s not a big deal. I’ll still draw for my kids from time to time - but I really try not to.
I try to say, 'No', to playing with them or for them - because I want to say, 'Yes', to something else...
I want to say YES to their:
❤ Creativity
❤ Independence
❤ Personal Satisfaction
❤ Development
❤ Resilience
❤ Problem-solving
❤ Focus
❤ Attention
❤ Concentration
❤ Inner World
I want to step out of the way of THEIR self-expression, curiosity, exploration. And as an adult, if I interject myself (even if they’re begging me to!), I’m totally likely to overshadow and overpower - even with all my best intentions!
So, my friend, if you ever feel guilty for letting your kids play independently, for saying “no”, stepping away, or becoming less involved, know this:
𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁!
We owe it to them.
I hope this is a liberating thought for you, as it was for me.
#reclaimplay #independentplay
#childhoodunplugged #motherhoodthroughinstagram #letthembelittle #playpandemic #presentplay #intentionalmotherhood #intentionalparenting #loveparenting #enjoyparenting #parenthood #parentingwisdom #childdevelopment #playisimportant #playislearning #playisachildswork #independencebaby #toddlerdrawings #toddlerdrawing
Tell me how the #ReclaimPlay Challenge is going for you, using only emojis! 🥰
Want results like Stephanie? Want to look back in a few years and think: I did it! I became the parent I knew I could be and showed up for my kids’ childhood.
Then I hope you’re taking the first (tiny, easy, doable!) baby step and follow along with Week 1 of the challenge! *Simplify*
Do you believe your kids are capable? Do you believe you’re capable?
Remember: “Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t: you’re right.” (FREE www.theparentingjunkie.com/challenge) #reclaimplay #presentplay
