FamilyGuru: A Personal Introduction

The second I became a mother I felt clueless. And in the wee hours of the night as I breast fed and tried to calm my crying baby I imagined conspiracy theories where parents never told their children how impossible child rearing was…

 …so that they would go on and experience it themselves then turn to their parents with undying gratitude and cries for help. Of course I was so in love with my daughter that my cluelessness came from and was exacerbated by my desire to be the best mother there could ever be. Just about then truth started flooding out of my mother’s mouth – when I complained about breastfeeding, she said to wait until my daughter started walking and running off on me; when I complained about that she told me to wait for the terrible twos, and on and on it would go until my daughter was married and had her own family problems. Basically, I was doomed to love and care so much that I would constantly and endlessly worry about how my own parenting would affect my child’s life. I imagine who my daughters will turn out to be and everyday shoot for the best-case scenario. Of course I consider myself to be slightly more neurotic than the average person… but what happens between now and when the best-case scenario becomes a reality? Lots of patience and hard work surely, many mistakes – of course -, heaps of love, laughter, sadness, maturity and growth. There are no guaranties, but I believe that learning from others makes for a little less turbulent ride with a smooth landing hopefully.

My name is May Bizri, and I am a Public Health, Behavior Change, Education and Communication specialist and a mother of two. I have lived in Shanghai for the past 6 years and have founded FamilyGuru because I realize the unmet need for information and resources expatriate parents face. Through this blog I hope not just to keep you up to date on FamilyGuru events, but also to share with this community my own parenting challenges and concerns, hear yours, provoke discussion, and help provide a plank in the platform of support for parents in Shanghai.

FamilyGuru brings a community of parents and specialists together to provide answers and guidance to everyday parenting challenges. Through meetings, seminars and workshops parents are empowered to make the decisions and adopt a style that suit their family – thus helping their children grow into healthy and happy individuals. For parents of children from toddler to teenage years, meetings are scheduled on the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday monthly addressing topics on child health, behavior, education as well as the physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. For more information please email info@familyguru.org.

additional image provided by Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot at www.fredigitalphotos.net