Every week I’ll be interviewing and spot-lighting local women-owned businesses that I love and that inspire me. This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing who I believe is an absolute lifesaver, and an incredible resource for mamas, Danielle of Parenting Whole Heartedly.
- Tell me a little about you!
Here’s my about page – https://www.parentingwholeheartedly.com/about
official bio – Danielle Bettmann is a Positive-Discipline certified parenting mentor for families with strong-willed kids age 1-7 and host of the Failing Motherhood podcast. She guides parents to cultivate cooperation, extend their patience and get on the same page through a 1:1 relationship called Sanity + Solutions or her VIP group coaching program called Wholeheartedly CALM. A teacher by trade and a coach by strengths, her passion is to be a translator between adult + child, helping parents crack the code of their child’s personality and find sanity + strategies. Her clients report new levels of confidence in themselves and connection with their kids.
I grew up in South Dakota, moved to Lincoln, NE for college (UNL for Birth-Grade 3 Early Childhood Education + Teaching Certification) and moved to Omaha right after. I was a lead teacher for Head Start + Early Head Start, then joined a partnership with Save the Children to home visit for a program called Early Steps to School Success. Then I had my daughters 15 months apart and worked part-time at an in-home daycare where I could take them with. My second daughter showed me early on that she was a wildly different personality than her sister and she has opened my eyes to so much when it comes to parenting a strong-willed child!
3.5 years ago I started my business to do in-home consultations + in-person workshops in Omaha. When COVID hit, I had to switch to virtual coaching over Zoom and started my podcast, Failing Motherhood, and haven’t looked back! I now work with families 1:1 over a 4 month relationship called Sanity + Solutions and an 11-week VIP group coaching program called Wholeheartedly CALM.
My daughters are now 9 + 8 and I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart for 13 years. We have two bunnies named Felix and Lulu. I love coffee, yoga, and reading fiction books!
- Where are you located?
Omaha, NE – but all my work is virtual so I connect + work with families all over the world!
- How did you get started and why coaching?
I dove into this in this post from this week – https://www.instagram.com/p/CjA6K2bu2yn/
- What ages do you help coach?
Families with 1-7-year-olds
- Do you have a favorite podcast episode?
Yes, a few! episode 38 – Survive your Strong-Willed Child + ep 46 – A “Good Enough” Mom
- What is the experience like with you?
I listen. I see my clients. I hear them – their fears, their *failures* and their WINS. It requires a lot of vulnerability to open yourself up to sharing + growing an area of your life that’s personal and you care so much about, and I create super safe spaces for that growth to take place in.
We always end up becoming friends, laughing on every call, lamenting about the situations we find ourselves in as parents, and yet always find new solutions that bring so much hope on every call.
- Anything else you’d like for my readers to know? (Or any other FAQ’s?)
I’m always getting to the root. When I started working in my first classroom as a certified teacher for Head Start, I quickly realized how much life these 3 year olds walked in with already. I transferred to Early Head Start to begin with a classroom of 8-week to 8-month-olds to create their foundation from day one. What I began to realize, then, was what happened in my classroom was great, but what happens at home is what really wires kids.
Parents are the ones doing the hardest work, the parent-child relationship is of the highest influence, and they’re doing the best they can with no training, manual or village to speak of.
It was then that I transitioned to home-visiting with Save the Children to equip their parents with support, resources, and community.
After I had my daughters, I couldn’t believe these parents had listened to a word I had to say… because textbook knowledge is one thing, but parenting is a whole new world!
My second daughter (born 15 months after my first) opened my eyes to the personality traits of a strong-willed child. I started my company, Wholeheartedly, three years ago to encourage + equip parents find wholeness themselves, thereby confidently understanding + providing what’s best for their *toughest* kids.
I firmly believe a parent’s well-being and re-parenting is crucial to form a healthy parent-child relationship. Motherhood is a journey of growth right alongside our kids. In my work, I get to the root of the perception gap between the child and parent, unmet needs in the parent and unmet needs of the child, and stand in that gap until the parent feels confident to handle whatever their child throws their way, knowing they are exactly the parent their child needs – imperfections and all!
- Let’s do a humble brag. What are you most proud of that you’ve accomplished?
I’m most proud of my clients being proud of themselves! Nothing lights me up more than a parent about how they handled a moment with their child with their new tools.
Professionally speaking, I’m super proud of the podcast – it’s currently at over 60K downloads and climbing and I pour my heart into every episode and believe it to be an incredible resource!
- What are your social media handles and your website?
My website is: www.parentingwholeheartedly.com
Calm your BIG Emotions Workbook *FREEBIE* – www.parentingwholeheartedly.com/emotions
FREE guide to MORE Patience – www.parentingwholeheartedly.com/patience
www.Instagram.com/parent_wholeheartedly
www.Facebook.com/wholeheartedlyomaha
Failing Motherhood Podcast: https://failingmotherhood.buzzsprout.com/ – on all listening platforms
