These toolkits are meant to be helpful in practically applying the encouragement I have embedded into the blog, podcast and other social media locations. I love talking about abstract ideals, but I also am an occupational therapist (OT for short). OTs are practical and realistic and love a good toolkit. I believe I am no exception.
These toolkits are not meant for children. They are meant for people who are supporting, and caring for, and nurturing children. Hopefully they help with the difficult task (the most difficult task) of self-care for the carers. When we work at hard things, we can get overextended, overwhelmed, and overloaded. We can start to try to do it all on our own, or we can start to give up, on ourselves first, and then on the people who may be counting on us. We need to be intentional, and maybe even strategic, about how we do what we do.
I have tried to link to relevant toolkits from my blog. The podcast is a standalone resource but you will find themes echoed here that I discuss there. Feel free to pick and choose and use what speaks to you in your situation! I hope that some of the tools are exactly what you need, and that others can just stay where they are, but findable, if a need does arise in future.
I work in teams, and I love teams. Teams are how we are meant to operate as humans. A family can be a great team, but so can a workplace, friend group, network, or virtual community. Teams can organize and disperse based on need or circumstance, but often relationships outlast the productivity phase, and go on to enrich us in other ways. Tools are not the same as teams. Teams are not made up of tools, but people. However, people using tools, within teams, can do quite amazing things!
I will be adding to these toolkits for the foreseeable future, so check back often and feel free to provide feedback, helpful suggestions, or even contributions. You could find yourself on another person’s team, and be just what/who they needed. That’s the magic of human diversity – you never know what your effect on the world really is. May as well show up! For sure you are welcome here if you can be safe for the rest of us.