ABC Parenting by Anna Braun née Kostantos (LGB, 2005)
A common trait many alumni share is a thirst for learning and a curious spirit. Anna Braun (LGB, 2005) is a perfect example. When she became a mother, she started to read about parenting theories. One thing led to another, she became a certified parent coach while launching her company ABC Parenting and having a second child. She tells us about her journey and the services she can offer.
"After leaving Ecolint and spending several years going back and forth between Switzerland and Canada, (my original home country) pursuing various school programs, internships and gap year adventures, I eventually decided to settle in Toronto to begin a career in marketing. To my surprise, after 6 years of working in brand management at a FMCG company, I found myself packing my bags for Geneva once again due to a relocation with my job. It seems I just couldn’t stay away from Geneva, and I’m very grateful for that.
Since moving back, alongside growing my career, I’ve met my husband (through an Ecolint friend) and had two daughters who became the impetus for me to start a side business in parenting. After the birth of my first daughter, my perfectionist tendencies combined with my desire to do her justice as a mom led me to dive deep into the world of parenting. From there, I ended up becoming a certified parent coach and just before the birth of my second daughter I started a company called ABC Parenting.
ABC Parenting is based upon three principles: building and maintaining a secure attachment with our children, understanding brain development so that we can meet our children where they are at (and with realistic expectations!) and conscious communication so that we may have mutually beneficial and effective interactions in our families.
My goal is to help parents increase cooperation, peace and ease at home while using the latest research in brain science and avoiding the use of punitive measures on our children. Although many of us were parented with fear and control-based tactics such as bribes, threats and punishments, today we have lots of research that suggest these strategies, along with isolation-based strategies (such as time outs) are detrimental to the emotional and cognitive health of our children. Further, there is a lot of research about what type of strategies actually work, while supporting the optimal emotional and brain development of our kids, and it is my goal to share this. Parenting is so hard and I am passionate about supporting others in their journey and equipping them with the tools they need to navigate this role with confidence.
I’m also in the middle of a completing a certificate to become a Pediatric Sleep Specialist and I am very excited to incorporate this into my practice going forward (think sleep training, but without the isolation and cry it out methods…)
Oh and let it be said, as it relates to my parenting today, I’ve definitely had to let my “perfectionist tendencies” go…"
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