We are all products of our environments and circumstance. Growing up in my first generation Asian household, I was never taught to acknowledge that emotions exist. Strength was in the form of suppression, sucking it up and moving forward. But were we really moving forward if we ignored our feelings in the first place? Fast forward to current day, allow me to introduce myself, "Nice to meet you, I'm a terrible communicator and perfectionist and meet my best friend social anxiety.". Add becoming a parent to the mix, toxic work culture, a pandemic...life can be so overwhelming.
paren(tee)ing was an idea born from wanting to create something that could help other humans feel seen, heard and understood by first acknowledging that emotions do exist and providing them language to express themselves. I also wanted to help my parenting community feel less overwhelmed but it had to be simple, not requiring much effort and if you did exert effort, you knew you were making a difference.
Our purpose
We believe to live well, is to be able to express yourself and go after your intentions. Creating clarity on emotionally where you're at can only help get you to where you want to go and articulate what you need from others. The products we create and the community we're growing is grounded in the pursuit of helping ourselves live a more authentic life.
Regardless of age, whether it's by using our products to promote that simply emotions exist or to find new emotions to better express ourselves, or trying an emo-bits activity (bite-sized info & activities that promote emotional literacy), we want others to walk away with simple, easy and impactful ways to live a more authentic life. We are by far not the experts in emotional literacy but hope that our creativity, our ability to breakdown the overwhelming and to connect resources to people who need them bring our community value.
Ultimately, I don't believe in being a perfect parent, but a real one - that has their own emotional baggage, wants to limit their children's and provide them the skills to navigate life authentically. We're all human. Hoping our products and content help you and those around you articulate their own emotions, feel less overwhelm and give confidence to tackle what's next.
In this together,
J.