Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Henry.
Hi Amy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello! As you already know I’m Amy. Professionally, I am a parenting coach, and the owner/operation/busy lady behind Big Picture Parenting. In entirety, I am a seeker of joy, an amateur baker, a mediocre but enthusiastic crafter, a cookie connoisseur, and an aspiring globetrotter. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I love anything sparkly and try to find the bright spots in life’s toughest moments. I’m a recovering perfectionist, and do my best to carry realistic expectations with me throughout life. I am also an extreme extrovert, and look forward to meeting all the wonderful families that cross my path.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
This question makes me laugh; no road is smooth. Just look around at all the road construction they’re doing in DFW. They tear up the old, leave it raw and bumpy for what feels like forever, then slowly build it back up. Even when they’re finished the road is never perfectly smooth, the intersections are uneven, or the ground moves and cracks quickly form.
Starting a business is not all that different than constructing a road. Throughout my building process, I have been my own biggest challenge, getting out of my own way, and understanding what comes easily and naturally to me (because I’ve put in thousands of hours and almost two decades working on it) is priceless knowledge to the parents who seek my help.
In my current phase of construction, marketing is the road bump I keep encountering. I’ve spent years thriving on word-of-mouth referrals, and now that I’m ready to expand beyond what I’ve ever been capable of I’m learning how valuable excellent marketing can be.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think as parents we focus a lot on making sure that our kids are good children. I see a lot of people zero in on getting into great schools, doing well in testing, keeping up with milestones, and enrolling them in plenty of activities. While all of these things are great components, focusing deeply on them isn’t what is going to create a well-rounded child ready to succeed in life. I consistently hear the same thing “Little Johnny got into X School so I know he’s smart. But he constantly talks back, and I feel like I failed as a parent!”
That’s where Big Picture Parenting shines. Instead of teaching children task-based success, I work with families to build the boundaries, expectations, and follow-through they need to guide their children during the many phases of life. Most children (and adults) feel extremely confident when they get a question or task correct and they feel as if they are competent because they are excelling. The inverse to this is that kids are often hesitant when they feel challenged as if they are letting their parents down by “failing.” Big Picture Parenting is always working on helping families set realistic expectations and have clear communication, preparing the child to feel confident entering a wide array of situations far beyond what they experience in childhood.
Building stability via consistent boundaries and follow-through helps to fill their confidence bank and gives them the capacity to tackle challenges that may have been overwhelming given a less predictable environment. I teach parents that eliminating the chaos in their home is not instantaneous, that it’s ok to ask for help when they feel stressed, to think both inside and outside of the box, as well as equip them with an array of phrases and quick tips to deescalate highly emotional situations. I teach them that while the feeling of “failure” is not easy, it is not a stopping point. It is ok to be wrong and to try again. As a matter of fact, when I’m working with kids, I often praise wrong answers, because I believe in emphasizing the importance of putting ourselves out there and trying, even when our first attempt may not be the “right” way of doing things.
For me, it comes back to my tagline. We Don’t Say Can’t. The lesson I work through with children and parents alike is that by taking Can’t out of your vocabulary, you are better suited to examine and honestly understand your own capabilities and weaknesses. You’re opening up a whole world of possibility by allowing yourself the mindset of “how can I?”
As far as I’m concerned, Big Picture Parenting is about reducing the chaos so families can experience more joy together. It takes a whole lot of positive growth through hard work. My hard work, your children’s hard work, and the hard work of the parents who are a part of my program. Enforcing boundaries with our kids isn’t easy, especially when we have weak boundaries in our own lives. But at the end of the day, we are living a life of leadership, and the example we set is what our children will expect in their own lives well beyond their time under our roofs. I believe in instilling within the next generation a growth mindset, and the components of strength and stability so that when they are faced with challenges throughout their lives, they don’t look at them and say, “I can’t,” but rather “how can I?” Raising the future to be incredible is not easy. But together, we can do it. Because We Don’t Say Can’t.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was such a good kid; I still don’t think my parents realize how good they had it. Mom, I know you’re reading this. Admit I was the perfect child. No, I’m kidding. My family always said I was a “free spirit”, and I’m pretty sure what they meant was that I did whatever I decided I wanted to do. I grew up with divorced parents, so I was constantly bouncing between the two houses. Looking back, I see a lot of personality traits that stem from that lifestyle, and it contributes significantly to how and why I am so committed to helping families now. I was the pickiest eater, tenacious, and very curious. I grew up in the country so I was always exploring, trying to invent something, or creating some “potion”. I didn’t mind getting messy and loathed wearing a dress.
I have always loved deeply, whether it was friends, family, or the array of animals that cycled through our home and farm. I made friends easily always willing to talk someone’s ear off it they were willing to listen but formed connections slowly.
The older I got the more I trusted myself and wanted to test my wings. So, I tended to lean toward time with my parent that was willing to give me the trust and space I so strongly desired.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wedontsaycant.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigpictureparenting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bigpictureparenting
