Have you ever used your magic mama powers to stop everything that was going on around you and take a moment to reflect on the reasons you decided to go into business for yourself while raising your children?  If not, let’s summon those powers now.  I invite you to stop multi tasking and breathe.  As you breathe and reflect on your reasons, ask yourself:  Did I go into business because I wanted to be out of balance and out my personal care last, let my business consume my life, have a hectic and overwhelming schedule?  Or did I go into business to feel guilty about creating a better life for my child?

If you are like any of the moms I know and work with, I would use my magic powers to guess that you went into business for the exact opposite reasons.

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One afternoon a few years ago, when we lived on Coffee Pot Bayou in St. Petersburg, Florida, there was a sudden storm, short but fairly severe. We looked out of the window and saw there was a little blue sailboat, just a very tiny one, out on the bayou. There was a man and a little child in the sailboat. It looked like the sailboat was in trouble and the man couldn’t get it where he wanted it to go.

I went down to the dock, and by that time he’d managed to get to the shore at the end of the bayou so I thought maybe he lived down there. He had put the little girl out on the rocks and he was baling water out of the boat. Then he got out and tipped the rest of the water out of the boat.

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When August arrives, many parents start to prepare their children to return to school. This year I have a returning student added to my household, and a lot of attention has been focused on his developing body and the need to replace the clothing that he is outgrowing. As he is also starting Middle School, we also are paying attention to the upgrade in school supplies from Elementary School. As a conscious parent, I have begun to think about other ways to support Justin as he transitions back to school, particularly with his nutrition.
I know in theory that ones diet can be a major influence on mood, motivation, and mental performance. Actually, I have seen it in practice with myself. So what can parents do nutritionally to feed their child’s hungry brain? According to Hara Estroff Marano, in the October 01, 2003 article, What Is Good Brain Food? published in Psychology Today, fat is the key.

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Agatha Achindu loves making fresh foods that are healthy for people.  So it’s no doubt she would pass this same love along to her children and others.  A Cameroonian-born woman who worked in corporate American for years, Agatha decided once her child was born to focus on what was available to feed him.  She was so concerned about the lack of freshness that she started cooking for her child.  After parents around her began contributing money to feed the same foods to their children, the idea for a company was born.

Today, Yummy SpoonfulsTM has been in business for 3 years, and can be found in Whole Foods, Dean & Deluca, Earth Fair, Amazon.com, and served at fio360, an Eco-Early Care and Learning Boutique in Atlanta, Ga.  In the midst of her move into her new kitchen, Agatha took a few minutes to talk with us about the business, baby food, and good parenting.

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When I first became a parent, I remember very clearly my mother advising me to “choose my battles carefully”. It was her belief, and soon became mine, that when raising children, you must not put yourself in a position of “dictator”. “Growing up shouldn’t be a battlefield” my mother would say.

Her words were always in the back of my mind as I was raising my daughter (now 32) and are still a very large part of my parenting philosophy as I now raise my grandchildren.

The theory is still very much the same, however, today the phrase has become, “take the path of least resistance”.

Regardless of the phrase you choose to use, the importance is in the message. A successful parent will know the value of going with the “flow” concerning their children’s choices and preferences.

Whether you see it as “choosing a battle” or “choosing a path”, your attitude will undoubtedly affect the process and outcome of every situation you face with your children.

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