The message: Who is the book suitable for?
The book is ideal for children aged 4 to 12 years, but it’s been getting a positive response from people of all ages. New parents have said it’s a great book for them to be reading now, even though their kids are still very young, because it gives them a roadmap to work towards as a family, using the Spiral Up concepts in simpler ways from an early age.
Parents of anxious kids have found it particularly useful. They can involve their kids in ways to work through their worries by using the pictures and having a shared plan of action for moving forward.
I think because the drawings relate to “life concepts”, anyone can relate to how they might be helpful in their own life. I’ve had many adults tell me they are using the ideas from the book to give them a better perspective on things!
The launch: What led you to start your business Spiral Up Parenting?
I created Spiral Up Parenting as a vehicle for helping spread the message and content of my book. The Spiral Up concept is really about learning to make conscious choices in our lives and fostering more awareness in our kids to help build their resilience in the world. My aim is to give kids coping strategies that are simple, memorable, and empowering, and help them create their best life.
I decided a way to share these key messages could be through the Spiral Up Parenting website, which offers information and sales of my book, as well as free posters of the discussion drawings to download as PDFs and print out for future conversations with kids. There are a range of posters covering topics such as positive self-talk, fears and anxieties, individuality, comparisons, sharing problems and ways to create a more balanced life, to name a few. Each poster includes talk-tips for parents and caregivers to help guide the conversations and promote openness. I used to hang my drawings I’d done for the kids up on the wall for us to look at and talk about when an issue came up, so I wanted to give other families that opportunity too.
We also wanted to have a social media presence that could offer uplifting messages and ideas to parents and caregivers, so Spiral Up Parenting is a good avenue to do that through.
The drive: What challenges have you overcome?
Being an unknown author of a self-published parenting book has definitely been a challenge in getting people to give your book a go. Especially if you’re not an expert in the field! You need to keep trying a variety of creative marketing strategies to get it noticed and have bookstores take it on, but I feel we’re starting to make some headway now.
There’s been a lot to learn in dealing with online booksellers and self-publishing companies and it certainly can get your heart going! It’s been an entirely new world, this publishing arena, so there’s been a lot to research and manage that I hadn’t tackled before. However, I’m lucky to have people around me who are extremely supportive and help me with the administration and sales side of things.
When I was writing the book, sometimes my Not Good Enough button would get pressed and I’d think, Who am I to be writing a parenting book? Will anyone read this? But you have to have faith in what is coming to you to express and share with the world and let go of any comparisons with what others are doing. So, I’ve had to trust that this journey with my book is evolving as it should, and the Spiral Up message will reach those it’s meant to. There’s been a lot of letting go and surrendering to the process!
Hopes and dreams: What’s next?
Of course, my dream is for Spiral Up to Empower Resilient Kids to reach as many families as possible to give them some new ideas and ways of navigating the challenges they’re facing. My sincere hope is for the book to help start honest and authentic conversations within families to help them connect, grow in awareness, and foster conscious choices. And I’d love to help kids build their own confidence and resilience to “spiral up” and cope a little better out there in the world. There’s so much anxiety going on for kids these days, I’d like to think some of my coping strategies could help them start creating their best life.
Maggie Dent has just chosen Spiral Up to Empower Resilient Kids as her “Book of the Month” (God bless her!), so hopefully that will help the book find its way into the hands of those who can really benefit from it.
I’m also looking at creating a Spiral Up School Wellbeing Program with my eldest daughter who is now a primary school teacher. She’s been using the Spiral Up concepts with the kids in her class, and it’s been making a real difference – so there’s my next project for the year ahead!
Visit the spiralupparenting.com.au website for more information or to purchase the book, and connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.
