We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kristina Campos a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kristina, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?
One of the biggest trends I see in parenting is a fear of asking for help. No one wants to be seen as a “failing parent”. Many parents believe in keeping their home life secret and feel it inappropriate and embarrassing to talk about parenting challenges, anxieties, and hardships. Too many care about what others will think. This also means that there are too many parents out there struggling alone. As the mental health crisis in our adolescents worsens, this is exactly the time that more parents need to ask for help. More than ever, parents need community.
I get it. I am a mom of 4 kids myself. It is greatly embarrassing for me to admit that my home isn’t perfect. Ha! We are so far from perfect! I know what it is like to stay awake all night worrying about your child. I know what it is like to hear the phone ring and cringe because it may be the school again telling you that your child got in trouble. And I know what it’s like to take your child to 20 different doctors and beg someone for answers. Each of my four kids challenges me in their own way. Our family is definitely not perfect, and I study parenting every day!
No one’s parenting journey is easy. We need to ditch the stigma and start helping each other again. It is so important to find your “tribe” or support network.
Kristina, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started the Impactful Parent because I was a lonely parent. When my kids hit school age, suddenly I found myself friendless. and had nowhere to turn for answers to questions about my adolescents. My kids were getting more complicated but at the same time, I was losing my outlet to vent. No more meeting parents when our kids played together. No more meeting parents in the park. My kids out-grew the activities where I used to socialize. I realized that parents of school-aged kids simply don’t have the support and network they need to thrive.
I set out to change that.
Soon, The Impactful Parent was born with a vision to create a community amongst school-aged parents. I wanted to create a place where parents could feel safe asking questions and also have a reliable place to get answers. Lastly, I wanted a place for parents to collaborate their knowledge and resources so that we all could elevate together. I am a big believer in the strength of the collective.
Today, The Impactful Parent is a podcast, several social media pages, a youtube channel, and most importantly, a parenting app. I am super proud of The Impactful Parent app! It is free for parents to download and full of hundreds of short videos for parents to reference when they need help or just a little bit of advice. The app is a place for parents to go for answers at 2 am when they can’t sleep. This is so much better than having parents turn to the internet for answers to their problems and going down the rabbit hole of the Google search.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I used to be a teacher. I loved teaching! I taught every grade during my 15+ years, from Pre-school to high school.
Then life took an unexpected turn. I found myself in the middle of a divorce. I knew I had to make a career change. I wasn’t a 9-5 teacher. I cared about my students deeply and often took work home with me. At the same time, my kids needed me more then, than they have ever before. They were adjusting to two households and I had 2 teenagers trying to find themselves. I had to focus more on the family.
But what to do? Teaching is all I knew.
So I went back to school and got my master’s. degree.
After that, I was still lost. How could I be an employee to anyone when I would drop work at the drop of a hat whenever any of my 4 kids is sick or needed me? So I decided to start my own business.
I wasn’t born an entrepreneur. If someone said to me that I was going to own my business someday, I would have laughed in their face and said, “No way. I don’t want that! But here I am. It was the best choice for me and my family. I am still able to teach and help families. I can make my own schedule so I can still show up as the mother I want to be. And my kids are able to rely on me to always be there for them. It is wonderful.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the idea that popularity is good.
I thought I wanted a million followers. In reality, I should want 100 active and engaging followers more.
I thought I wanted to be super well-known, like a celebrity. In reality, the more well-known you are, the more dangerous life becomes with internet creepers and stalkers.
There is great value in being a big fish in a little pond.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thiempactfulparent.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/theimpactfulparent
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/theimpactfulparent
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/theimpactfulparent
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/impactfulparent
- Youtube: https://theimpactfulparent.com/youtube
- Other: https://theimpactfulparent.com/app The Impactful Parent app