Connection is family juice.
“I feel recharged after our sessions and less bothered when I have challenges to face.
All the tools proved useful, and I notice a difference in my child’s behavior.”
— Happier Parent
Hi, I’m MereAnn!
I’ll help you find sturdiness in the storms and keep your cool more often.
So you can start to trust your instincts and lead your family with confidence.
If you have a stack of parenting books on your bedside table…and you don’t see yourself or your kid reflected there…you’re not doing it wrong. You just haven’t found your groove yet.
As an experienced parent coach, child development specialist, professor of play therapy, and former preschool teacher—I use my skills and creative problem-solving to support resourceful parents in reconnecting with your kids, without exhausting yourself!
I love working with parents of kids who are quirky, rascally, and full of energy! I enjoy connecting with humans of all ages who experience big feelings, meet overwhelm often, and bring a highly sensing approach to the world around them.
Whether you’re a sensitive soul or a late bloomer, a black sheep or a deep thinker—I’d love to know more about your path through parenthood and what buttons are getting pushed.
Because your kids didn’t install those hot buttons; they belong to you—and how you respond probably makes a lot of sense. I’d love to explore the rest of the story and help you expand your toolbox.
Kind Words From Pleased Parents
We’re connecting!
“We have used all the tools we learned in one way or another. The relationship as a whole has changed. It’s so much better!”
~ adoptive mom of two
We recover faster.
“I’ve switched my thinking from ‘What’s wrong with this kid?’ to…What does he need? How is he feeling? and How can I help him feel safe & connected to me?”
~ dad of three
I’m way more calm.
“I feel refueled after the group sessions—ready to take on the week! I notice fewer and shorter tantrums, and I am calmer when they happen.”
~ solo mom of one
Craving a shift in your family?
You want to show up differently than your parents did. Because your kids need something different.
So do you.
Hop off the roller-coaster of rewards and consequences.
Or maybe just get out the door in the morning without cussing under your breath—or out-shouting one another. I feel you.
Whether you’re seeking new tools, struggling to make sense of BIG behaviors, or craving more support, I’ll help you connect the dots. And start hearing your own wisdom more clearly.
So you can show up more grounded…instead of exhausted by shoulds and stressed by shouting.
I Can Help With That!
Battling BIG behaviors?
Stuck in a rut of the same rumbles every week?
No wonder you’re exhausted!
Everyone in your family deserves to get their needs met—including you.
It’s hard to be curious when frustration and constant coping are pulling your attention.
I’ll be your compassionate guide and behavior detective, so you don’t have to go it alone.
I bring insight and practical tools to whole-hearted parenting, helping you decode your kids’ behavior, so you can see problems and solutions in totally new ways. And get different, more cooperative results.
So you can enjoy your kids, again.
Photo by Kiana Bosman on Unsplash
Maybe you’re an extrovert with a little homebody on your hands…or you need more downtime, while your preschooler is a full-on Four-nado!
We can work with that.
Even when your kids are losing it, their goodness is fully intact. Yours, too.
In the midst of the mess, while you’re yelling, and have no idea what to do—that’s the moment where you experience the overwhelm your kids are feeling, right in sync. It’s catchy!
All is not lost. We’ll uncover new territory: Where your BIG love and their BIG behaviors can co-exist.
Together, we’ll unpack what’s off-track.
I help smart, resourceful parents like you feel more connected to your kids—without losing yourself!
When you have good support, your own amazingness shines!
Let’s find the sweet spot where your best guidance and their best efforts find each other more often—that’s what I call finding your family zest!
In the early years of parenthood, I deeply craved support more personal than a library book and more intimate than Instagram.
I hungered for connection and whole-hearted community.
I was grateful to find a group of parents curious about how our parenting experiences shape our relationship with our kids, our partners, and ourselves.
We were a motley crew, including a hairdresser and speech therapist, a stay-at-home dad, a few musicians, and an entrepreneur. We had truth-telling, real conversations about the challenges of parenthood—complete with cussing and crying (not required, but the full range was welcomed).
We connected in phone calls and small groups, mentoring, long-distance friendships, and relational neuroscience study groups (the best kind of nerdy). Together we learned that our needs had a place to land, and we could be seen and heard in our experiences without shame or blame.
These days, I’m raising a fantastic teenager and continuing to host parent conversations, 1:1 and in groups—getting curious about BIG behaviors, supporting family leadership that invites power-with instead of power-over, and learning what attachment and brain science has to do with it all.
