Healing the Tigress Ep. 7 - How Gentle Parenting Started the Journey to Healing and Identity with KJ Althoff
A lot of AAPI parents these days are breaking generational cycles by parenting differently. You may know KJ Althoff as "Gentle Healing Mom" on Instagram, and in today's episode, we have the honor to hear her share her story for the very first time about her Filipino background and how it plays a role in her childhood traumas and motherhood journey today.
In this episode, KJ graciously opens up to us about how she was actually brought up to suppress her Filipino heritage to fit in with her American peers when she moved to the U.S. at a young age from the Philippines with her mother. She grew up with a white father who adopted her, but it took years to come to terms with her true identity as 100% Filipina. KJ discusses with us how she realized a lot of her childhood trauma contributed to her triggers in motherhood, and hence, she started a journey of self-healing to parent her child differently than how she was raised, as well as re-parenting herself.
Over the course of learning how to parent in a way that felt right to her, KJ has built a community of over 100k followers on Instagram (@gentlehealingmom) sharing about her personal gentle parenting journey as well as healing from childhood wounds. She has a master's degree in mental health counseling and is also a certified parenting coach, as well as Director of Content for Big Life Journal. KJ and her husband Adam have been married for 7 years. They have a 6-year-old son who is the reason KJ began her gentle and conscious parenting journey more than 3 years ago.
KJ also discusses with us the difference between gentle parenting and conscious parenting, which we think is important to distinguish. Please join us in this deeply personal and hugely relatable episode about parenting.
Books recommended by KJ:
Let's Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent and Respect
My Body! What I Say Goes!
My Body Belongs to Me from My Head to My Toes
I Said No! A Kid-to-kid Guide to Keeping Private Parts Private
You can find more of KJ at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gentlehealingmom/ (@gentlehealingmom)
Big Life Journal: https://www.instagram.com/biglifejournal/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gentlehealingmom
Website: https://gentlehealingmom.com/
If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and follow our show! We would also love a rating and review to help our show become more visible to other AAPI parents who would benefit.Note: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speakers' own. This podcast is not a replacement for therapy or professional/medical advice. If you are in need of more support or advice, please reach out to your own medical professional who can answer your questions with your individual medical history and background in context.