Some thoughts on effectively advocating for your child: Feminist Parenting

Advocacy requires walking a razor-thin line. Here's how to get better at it.

I’ve often remarked that the hardest part of parenting, for me, has been managing and working with the people who help me care for my child: teachers, doctors, childcare providers, and all of the other adults who help form my children’s community.

Advocating for our kids is a full-time job. I’ve had some big successes, and managed to build a network of adults I trust to help me care for my children. I also had some early failures. We got one child kicked out of her school (a school that we never should have enrolled her in at all), and have threatened more than one lawsuit in our tenure as parents.

Child advocacy is incredibly challenging, and anyone who tells you there are simple answers has never actually done the hard work of helping their child get what they need. Here are some lessons I’ve learned on child advocacy. I’m not going to tell you what to do. Instead, I’m going to tell you what to think about. I hope it helps.