EP45: Spacious Parenting: ReWilding our Children with Alexandra Kogen

Creating Space With Christine Kathryn

In this episode, we continue our series on Spacious Parenting. For the month of March I’m talking with inspiring Mamas who are creating safe spaces for their kids as they navigate challenges they feel they either weren’t prepared for or chart courses they didn’t necessarily expect to take and have since ended up paving the way for others in similar situations.

Today I welcome Alexandra Kogen, wife, Mom to Aiden, founder of Mountain Tots, Tinkergarten leader and Marine biologist turned mountain lover. Alexandra shares how she and her husband decided to move from the west coast to Colorado specifically so they could parent their son in the environment they felt was most conducive to the rewilding parenting style.

Alexandra shared that play is the #1 way kids 0-8 learn. She talked about some of her core beliefs in how kids learn and grow best such as the importance of finding and delighting in the child’s strengths, allowing the child to learn at the pace they choose, and celebrating their learning style and choices each day. She shares a specific instance in how she plays out her role as guide in suggesting safe ways to experience risk, implementing caution in adventure, and fostering curiosity and healthy problem solving.

We talked about the wisdom that lies in allowing our kids to initiate more of the structure or the ‘how’ of each day instead of parents initiating it solely. Alexandra talks about honoring your child’s desire to explore and letting go of our desire for them to have a ‘perfect experience' which often excludes natural consequences or organic results.

Learning to move through life with a learning disability and knowing she thought and learned differently than her counterparts in school fueled her interest to pave the way for a different way of raising her son. Mountain Tots was born out of her and her son’s need for community as well as a way to get their daily dose of Vitamin N (nature). The group has become quite popular offering toddler led walkabouts and camping trips along with socialization and adventure. Her dream is to nurture in the kids a foundational loving relationship with the environment and offer opportunities to engage all of the children's senses. I am inspired by all that Alexandra is doing for her son and the community of families she is building and I think you will be too. Join us now as we begin to create space…

Important links from the Show:

• Connect with and follow Alexandra and Mountain Tots on Facebook
• Find Alexandra in the Colorado Springs area, a Leader near you or DIY activities at www.tinkergarten.com
• Work with Christine one-on-one. Set up a complimentary 20-minute Hello! session with her to see if we are a fit!
• Download this episode’s Guided Meditation