Expert-Led Parenting With Play

By Jessica Benson

Mar 10, 2017 

Expert-Led Parenting With Play

TruMama Health Revolution highlights Parenting With Play, introduces the director, Cristi VanLeeuwen Dame and shares how this mama was a child-raising expert in her field long before she was even old enough to vote. 

In the spirit of this week's international theme celebrating women, I introduce to you Cristi VanLeeuwen Dame, an inspiring fierce mama that was BORN with the instinct for communicating with, managing and raising happy littles. 

I can personally attest to this because I have looked up to her in this capacity since I was a teenager. As an only child, I had never been around little kids or babies, but as a senior in high school I followed Cristi to The Children's Center to do an internship in child psychology/behavioral therapy. 

If I'm being honest with myself, I believe my motivation for taking this such internship had more to do with getting out of school by 10 am each day, but that was not the case for Cristi. When I grabbed onto her coattails, Cristi had already been working there for at least a year, and by the time she graduated from college she was a permanent fixture at the facility. 

So as far back as when I was sixteen years old, I was quick to follow Cristi's lead, I tuned in to listen anytime she offered her wisdom, I asked questions and practiced her methods. There is no way I would have managed that internship if it hadn't been for her, and I continued to seek her expertise up through my first year of college when I worked as a nanny. 

It had been years since I had heard from or seen Cristi, not surprisingly for me, as I moved out of our home state and lived away for over a decade. I returned to Utah in 2012 and immediately started my family. Today I have two boys, one is 4 years old and the other just 18 months. 

It was having my boys which led me, entirely by coincidence, to reconnect with Cristi once again, albeit this time in a professional capacity. A few weeks ago I tuned into a live stream on Instagram that caught my interest, the subject of which had something to do with parenting. 

I immediately started to really lose myself in the content, so it took me almost 10 minutes before I realized that the presenter I was watching was none other than my old-time friend Cristi. 

I can't help but laugh, because here I am, now 34 years old, still looking to my unwavering expert on the subject of children. I was so impressed to see her, in her perpetual element, though now as a professional working mama. She is so fantastic with kiddos, I can vouch for that, but now she also boasts almost two decades of professional experience and a slew of credentials and accolades to boot. 

Today, she manages a social presence and offers her expertise to the world via her blog and live video streams on Facebook and Instagram. In just one sitting I walked away with several new tools to implement in my own mamahood. All in all, I felt empowered as a mama and ready to take on the next day with renewed enthusiasm and a fresh take. Like I was sixteen once again! 

If you have specific issues that you would like to ask a professional about, this is your girl. But, even if things are running on the level at home, I recommend this to any mom who could benefit from mama reinforcement from time to time. 

All good things, definitely a beneficial recipe for living your best life and raising a healthy, happy family. 

Check it out @parentingwithplay!