Dear Reader

Here’s to ‘making our world bigger again’ in 2022

ParentMap has traditionally pegged its December installment of the magazine as its annual “global” issue. This umbrella theme has inspired coverage of a wide range of topics over the years, depending upon the current parenting zeitgeist. For the second year in a row, we remain hampered by the constraints of the pandemic in practically every aspect of our lives. Though connotatively and actually “global” in its very nature — posing as it does a universal threat to all families on Earth — the COVID-19 pandemic telescopes our attention inward, refocusing it to home-front concerns about our individual family’s survival. We’ve made our worlds small so that we can remain safe.

When local parent education expert Annie Garrett submitted her feature about her experience teaching parent-newborn cooperative classes for PEPS during the pandemic (Pandemic Rebound, p. 12), I was particularly taken by her No. 1 recommendation for parents who may be concerned about the cognitive and social development of littles born during this testing crisis: Find ways to make your world bigger again.

For parents of “pandemic born” newborns and toddlers, Garrett notes, “If there is one thing I have gained from the pandemic … it’s a deeper appreciation for [the family] village. I didn’t know just how desperately we needed it, until now.”

No matter their kids’ ages, all parents have had parched prospects over the past two years when it came to patching together ways to make our COVID-19-winnowed world “bigger” for their families. Our annual holiday arts and events traditions — most of which were shuttered or virtualized in 2020 — are in normal years some of the most engaging ways we remain connected to our local and global cultural communities. With COVID-19 vaccines now available to safeguard our younger kids, those cherished experiences are back! Get to planning an epic month of festive outings with our sampler of sensational shows (Let It Show, p. 26) and “nice list” of holiday delights (Play List, p. 24). My world felt instantly bigger just reading all about them.

In this month’s Parent Day Jobs (p. 46), we share the “survived and thrived” story and words of Caroline Wright, a local cookbook author and mother of two who defied the odds of a terminal diagnosis, fueled by unshakable mother courage, and nourished by the power of community and the healing elixir that is … soup! Her inspiring journey is such a resonant reflection on this theme of making the world bigger for our children in the face of fear, devastation and the potential for loss.

The ParentMap team wishes every family, near and far, a brighter (one more time: and bigger!) world this holiday season and in the new year ahead.

DECEMBER 2021, VOL. 18, NO. 12 PUBLISHER Alayne Sulkin

EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR Patty Lindley OUT + ABOUT EDITOR Nancy Chaney DIGITAL CONTENT EDITOR Vicky McDonald

OUT + ABOUT EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Devon Hammer COPY EDITOR Sunny Parsons CONTRIBUTORS Gemma Alexander, Heidi Borst, April Chan, Annie Garrett, M.Ed., JiaYing Grygiel, Devon Hammer, Rachel Knecht, Rebecca Mongrain, Susan Newman, Ph.D., Kali Sakai

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DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER Lindsey Carter EMAIL + SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Angelica Lai DIGITAL MARKETING COORDINATOR Taryn Weiner

ADVERTISING SALES + PARTNERSHIPS

SENIOR ADVERTISING AND PARTNERSHIPS MANAGER Ida Wicklund ADVERTISING CLIENT SERVICES MANAGER Jessica Collet ADVERTISING CLIENT SERVICES ASSISTANT Angela Goodwin CLIENT SERVICES PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Mallory Dehbod SALES + OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Rachel Howard

EVENTS

EVENT OPERATIONS Brenna McCown

ART + PRODUCTION

SENIOR DESIGNER Amy Chinn

ADMINISTRATION

BUSINESS MANAGER Carolyn Brendel

If you had a magic wand and could wave it to give a gift to the world, what would you wish for?

Relief from economic stressors that prevent parents from feeding and clothing their family

No more pandemics, ever!

Fresh water for all (plus wine for the moms)

That emotion regulation techniques were considered as imperative as algebra in education

No social media

PARENTMAP EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Benjamin Danielson, M.D. CLINICAL PROFESSOR, UW SCHOOL OF MEDICINE PRACTICING PHYSICIAN, UW MEDICINE Joan Duffell RETIRED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE FOR CHILDREN John Gottman, Ph.D. THE GOTTMAN INSTITUTE PROFESSOR EMERITUS, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Laura Kastner, Ph.D. PSYCHIATRY + BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON Bea Kelleigh VICE PRESIDENT, DOVETAILING, LLC Yaffa Maritz, M.A. FOUNDER, LISTENING MOTHERS + COMMUNITY OF MINDFUL PARENTING Ron Rabin EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KIRLIN CHARITABLE FOUNDATION Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MINDSIGHT INSTITUTE CONTACT INFORMATION

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