Meet Ann McKitrick | Parenting Coach and Child Development Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ann McKitrick and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ann, is there something you believe many others might not?

I work with parents of young children, who receive so much advice that it becomes numbing. But underneath it all, I think we all seek advice from those we respect. When it comes to parenting, the conventional advice that I disagree with is the idea that there’s a right and wrong way to do everything.

Of course when it comes to parenting practices regarding physical and emotional safety there are very clear wrong ways to do it! This would include anything that would hurt, harm or cause a child to feel unsafe in any way. But when we’re talking about some of the big topics of conversation — whether to breast or bottle feed, co-sleep or put your child in their own room in the first month, sleep train or not, return to work or stay home, public school or home school and all the things that parents worry about — I say, do what is right for you, your life circumstances and follow the unique needs of your child.

When your child starts kindergarten, it won’t matter if they were exclusively breast fed,  still sleep in their parents’ bed or whether they started saying words at 12 months or 20 months. What you will be able to observe is which children are happy, curious, able to manage themselves apart from you, interested in making friends and able to listen and answer questions.

What should our readers know about your business? What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

I’m one of those people who kind of fell into their dream job. Wondering how that happened? I just always did what I was most interested in – and that was anything that had to do with babies! As a teenager, I babysat and worked at a child care center. In college, I wasn’t sure what to major in so took classes that interested me… things like Child Development, Family Studies, Lifespan Development… which eventually turned into a couple of degrees that prepared me to be an early childhood educator, working with infants, parents and teaching college students. Fast forward through 20+ years of parenting, teaching, leading children’s ministries, fostering babies and spending hours talking with parents and here I am. People call me a baby whisperer and I think this is the result of working with literally hundreds of babies and their parents through my work and life experiences.

Today I am an entrepreneur with two businesses: an online learning platform for early childhood teachers called Texas Child Care Training, a parenting site, Nurtured Noggins and the host of Parenting in the First 3 Years Podcast. Building an online business is a marathon, not a sprint (even though there are some amazing ‘sprinters’ out there who have found success quickly!) For most of us, it’s learning, implementing, seeing what works and then doing more of that. That’s been my story, for sure. What I’ve found is that consistency is key – to building organic traffic and name recognition. Both of my businesses have great organic SEO and for that I’m so grateful.

Along the way, I’ve learned these important lessons: stay on top of technology learning, delegate the things that are not your strength and one I learned recently at the Kajabi Hero Live event, “hire slow, fire fast”. Oooh, that’s hard for me but so necessary for entrepreneurs.

Today, in addition to creating a weekly podcast, I speak at early childhood conferences, work with parents individually and host an in-person coaching group for moms. MOMentum Supper Club is where moms gather to share a meal, connect through intentional conversation, learn and be inspired to follow both their personal and professional dreams. Teaching is centered around proven principles of success and we apply these to their lives and also to parenting, giving them the tools to raise children who will have a strong foundation for a successful life.

The reason this is important to me is this: when I was a young mom I was brimming with business ideas! I had many and some were really good. I only wish I’d had an older woman come alongside me to encourage and direct my dreams. I think it would have made a difference not only for me, but for my children. They would have seen a side of me that didn’t feel comfortable emerging until I was encouraged to do so.

One thing I’m wondering is should I take MOMentum Supper Club online? If this is something you’d like to participate in, be sure to connect with me! I’d love to hear your story, your dreams and help you understand those kids of yours.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would definitely take them to the Georgia Aquarium.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shoutout to all the moms who have shared their stories with me! I love hearing about inventive things they do at home, like opening up the dishwasher and putting snacks out for their baby to pull up and eat while they cook or only letting your child watch a video on the ipad while they do something that usually is met with resistance – like brushing out tangles. You are creative, thoughtful, dedicated and you love your children well. Thank you for letting me serve you in my work.

Website: https://nurturednoggins.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nurturednoggins/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-mckitrick-5aa6592a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nurturednoggins/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nurturednoggins4182