Roya Dedeaux joins me on the podcast this week to talk about her new book Connect with Courage. Roya is a grown unschooler, a marriage and family therapist, and an unschooling mom of three, so she has lots of experience to draw from as she considers how children learn and thrive.
In her book, Roya describes the many benefits of supporting our children’s interests and the strong connections between parent and child that those positive interactions cultivate. She also details nineteen different barriers that can arise and walks readers through ways to find solutions. In our conversation, we talk about two of these barriers and how so much of it is our inner, emotional work to do to move past our fears and to a place of connection with our kids. Our conversation was energizing and I’m really excited for more parents to read Connect with Courage. These are powerful, life-changing ideas!
QUESTIONS FOR ROYA
As a quick refresher, can you share with us a bit about you and your family? What is everybody interested in right now?
I’m thrilled to have recently published your book, Connect with Courage: Practical Ways to Release Fear and Find Joy in the Places Your Children Take You. I really love the book, and I think it may well be life-changing for many parents. Let’s start off with this: why is the connection between parent and child so important?
When it comes to connecting with our kids through supporting their interests and passions, lots of things can get in our way! And that’s where our work as parents comes in, which is why the many exercises you’ve included to walk parents through these challenges are so helpful. In the book you work through nineteen common barriers, and I thought we could touch on a couple of them here. First, let’s dive into “I don’t understand why they enjoy it.” How can a parent work through that challenge?
Another barrier I hear parents complaining about pretty regularly, especially with younger kids, is that the thing their child likes to do is messy. There are a couple of aspects to that, aren’t there?
What do you love most about your unschooling lives right now?
THINGS WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE
EU024: Growing Up Unschooling with Roya Dedeaux
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What a beautiful person who has just become my new mentor! I tried to dive into the world of unschooling a couple of years ago and am now re-visiting the concept as we find ourselves in lockdown in Australia. The teacher in me got excited about doing school at home which quickly fell flat on its face in so many ways. I am now back to exploring unschooling and this podcast was everything I needed in this hugely uncertain time. I have just purchased Roya’s book and today is the day that I have decided to ditch the school work and embrace this precious time to really connect with my 4 boys and husband. Thank you Pam for all of the time and energy you put into Living Joyfully allowing well meaning parents to find their way back home!
With kindness
Jenna-Gaye Hollis
So nice to meet you, Jenna-Gaye! I’m glad our conversation resonated and I think you’ll find Roya’s book really helpful. I’m excited for you to dive into exploring unschooling again!