Lara Stewart-Panko

Apr 19 2019

In my childbirth ed classes I often tell expectant parents: “Parenthood is the best self-development program in existence, if you make use of it to that end.” While I wish I could’ve known much of what I’ve learned from parenting without having to be a parent, my reality is that I simply wouldn’t have gotten […]

Mar 13 2019

In the past decade or so, birth plans have become commonplace. Yay! Guess what next deserves to be a well-recognized tool? A breastfeeding plan. I recently interviewed Nicole McHardy, Lactation Consultant (LC), to gain her thoughts about the purpose of a breastfeeding plan. You can check out the complete interview here. So what can a […]

Oct 07 2018

The importance of interactive music for your child’s development is detailed in the 101 Days of Joyful Babyhood program. Interactive music is when we do more than just listen: we sing, play instruments, dance, do actions, tap out the rhythm… Plus, enjoying music with your little one brings you mental health benefits, too! Below is one […]

Sep 05 2018

This past year has been quite full of grief for me. In the past 12 months I’ve lost my “BFF” (I ended the relationship after struggling mightily for several years), my father died, my husband and I came to learn he has a neurological condition that significantly impacts many areas of life, my brother died […]

Apr 12 2018

I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I want to sing with a wee one, my full repertoire of songs escapes me. So, after saying I was going to do so on many occasions, I’m finally making list of songs for future reference. Some are widely known, others not so much. My hectic schedule […]

Mar 12 2018

The image accompanying this post is what I put on our family’s bathroom whiteboard this morning. Little did I know how soon I’d need to apply these reminders. It was a relatively easy morning. I left for work as per usual, heading onto a parkway where the speed limit is 90km. It was snowing gently […]

Feb 21 2018

Well, in the case of myself and my partner, Kevin, we can count: Thousands of smiles, tears, laughs and hugs. Hundreds of challenging parenting moments, thousands of rewarding ones. A few dozen times apart for multi-week stretches due to tour and other travel (Kevin is in the music industry). A time or two where we […]

Jan 31 2018

In honour of Bell’s “Let’s Talk Day” (if you’re not familiar, it’s an initiative to get everyone talking about mental health to reduce stigma and other barriers to support), here’s my humble contribution. While mental health is as big an umbrella term as physical health — and dare I say they’re so intertwined we should […]

Sep 21 2017

My son, Sam, was born on September 21st, 2002, poetically on the U.N. International Day of Peace that’s observed around the globe each year. Sam has been an ambassador for peace, indeed. I’m fond of saying that if we play parenthood well, we use this tremendous opportunity to grow ourselves into better human beings. Our […]

Sep 07 2017

Today started fairly typically. After making breakfast I got started with my workday and sat down to check email. That’s when things got atypical. One email was quite upsetting. Nasty, actually. I rarely encounter such things these days as I’m blessed with an abundance of tremendously kind, conscious, mature people in my world. But, I still […]