The Learning Years
On the spot advice to navigate parenting challenges
The Learning Years is a wide-ranging reference with fresh insights into child-rearing and self-care for parents. This book addresses typical parenting issues with to-the-point, practical information perfect for busy caregivers. There is a strong emphasis on embracing imperfection, prioritizing, and finding joy in everyday moments.
“There are many ways to be a good parent and nurturer”
— Pat Blackwell, PhD.
The process of nurturing healthy development is dynamic and joyful.
There are many ways to be a good parent or caregiver. The needs of the individual child, the contours of the environment, and relationships between the players can lead the way to best practices (parenting, education, or therapy). But we must be present to observe and to be deliberate about how we nurture (ourselves and the children we care for).
Mistakes will happen. It’s essential that we become as kind to ourselves as we are to the children we care for.
This website is a file drawer of strategies, and ways of thinking about children and the world we are growing in together. I also hope that readers will find ways of mining everyday encounters with children for the joy that is there- Pat Blackwell, Ph.D. (child psychologist).
About Dr. Pat Blackwell
Pat Blackwell, Ph.D. is the founder of ParentSource, an enrichment program for families and young children. Through her unique programs (including WeeWonders, Transitions Through Touch, and the Fussy Baby Clinic) she has taught parents how to manage common parenting challenges and enjoy the process of childrearing. Dr. Pat Blackwell holds degrees in psychology from Loyola University in New Orleans, Teacher’s College at Columbia University, and Tulane University. Dr. Pat Blackwell has worked with children and families in a variety of settings since 1984 (including daycare, early intervention clinics, and medical settings). Dr. Pat Blackwell was licensed as a psychologist in 1997. Dr. Pat Blackwell is a graduate fellow of Zero to Three, The National Center for Infants Toddlers and Families where she had the honor of being mentored by her heroes in the field of psychology and medicine. She is past president of the Louisiana Infant Mental Health Association. Since 2009 she has conducted a private applied developmental psychology practice with Pelts, Kirkhart, and Associates in New Orleans. Dr. Pat Blackwell and her husband live in New Orleans and their daughter lives in New York.