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ParentingLittles.com

Raising happy, confident, emotionally intelligent children

The truth I was too embarrassed to tell anybody…

Picture perfect squares on Instagram
Highlight reel posts on Facebook
Meetups with friends who tell you everything is “going great in their lives”

And yet you silently struggle.
Struggle because you wonder how they’re able to afford all.the.things and how they have time for all.the.adventures.

While you stare at your bank account, figuring out what expense you can cut and even then still having more month than money.

> Living pay cheque to pay cheque.
> Not sure when you’ll be able to buy that family home you’ve been dreaming about.
> Worried how you’ll be able to save money for your Littles to go to school.
> aaand unsure whether you’d have any savings left at the end of the day for retirement?

I’m not sure if you can relate to this or know of family/friends in this situation, but this was something I was waaaay too embarrassed to share with anyone because everyone looked like they had their life together and I thought I was the ONLY ONE struggling with our family finances.

Then I got the courage to open up to some mommy friends I trusted and they started to share that they were in a similar situation…

– going on EI to stay home with their baby and making very little $
– debating whether to go back to work because the money they’d make would cost the same as childcare (so why pay someone else to care for the kids)
– partner working long hours away from home to make ends meet….

and I realized I wasn’t the only one struggling with this and I started looking for solutions and learning how to make money go further for families like mine trying to raise young children in the city.

What I learned is that finances isn’t a hard or scary topic. It’s actually really easy to understand when it’s taught in simple language (AND when people aren’t trying to SELL me a product without having my best interest in mind).

Using the concepts and strategies I learned, in a span of 9 months, I’ve been able to:

+ reduce the amount of taxes our family pays by allocating money in the right place for our situation
+ set up an education savings plan for our kiddo that is super flexible so she can use the money for whatever she chooses if she decides not to go to school
+ make sure all our family assets and liabilities are properly protected, not only to ensure our family wouldn’t be financially devastated if something heaven forbid were to happen to us, but also to create a legacy of wealth we can transfer to our kids
+ figured out exactly how much money we’ll need when we want to retire and implemented a plan that will get us there so we weren’t just winging it anymore.
+ aaaaand I’ve even helped some friends get out of debt. Debt that would have taken them YEEEEEEARS to pay off

It baffles me that I grew up in the Canadian education system and was never taught the basics of the money game. I even worked at one of the big 5 banks before entering this profession of parenting and the bank NEVER taught me any of this financial knowledge.

So in addition to all the work I do around positive parenting and fostering social and emotional literacy, my hope is to also be a resource to help foster financial literacy within your family.

Because I believe we all deserve to know all of the options available to us and the pros and cons of each so WE can make an educated decision about what’s a good fit for our families. Things I wish we knew yeeeears ago so we could have stressed less. Habits that we can also pass on to our kiddos, as they develop responsibility with money.

If you’re curious about what we did to change our family’s financial situation or have been putting off looking at your family’s finances because it’s overwhelming and confusing, let me help break it down for you.

Shoot me an email below and I’d love to share the basic financial concepts and strategies that has changed the future for our family, and has offered us the peace of mind we had been desperately searching for.

Yes! I want this for my family.
  • Recommended by Professionals

     

    I love this book! ‘Uh-oh’ uses everyday situations to educate both children and their parents on alternative ways to handle challenging situations by promoting positive and empowering interactions. The photos of children make it visually appealing and the situations described are relevant to every family. As a professional and parent, I highly recommend this book and suggest it be a staple in every family’s home library!

    - Karen Battersby (Infant Development Consultant)

  • Play for my daughter. Meaningful lessons for me.

     
    My daughter and I were enrolled in Intelliplay Tots when my daughter was between the ages of 14 and 16 months. I cannot explain my gratitude to Cherrie for the incredible things she taught us. As an elementary school teacher I wanted to take ideas about social and emotional well-being and apply them to raising my daughter, but I was not sure how to do this at her young age. Cherrie provided excellent and detailed feedback and ideas about ways to allow your child to flourish as a toddler.
     
    More than anything else, I appreciate how Cherrie has helped facilitate a relationship built on love and understanding between my daughter and I. It is wonderful to see my daughter express herself, and to have the tools to help her do so. We have had so many great experiences with baby groups, but Intelliplay Tots stands out as the best because it provided a fun and social setting for my daughter, and meaningful lessons for me.

      - Randi Crace

  • Fun, educational and practical

     
    I really can't say enough good things about Cherrie and the classes she offers. They are fun, educational and a great way to learn practical tips on fostering the development of babies and/or toddlers. Cherrie's classes are warm and inviting and she is extremely knowledgeable on childhood development. She provides excellent and practical strategies around milestones and challenges that parents face each week.
     
    I've learned so much from Cherrie over the past few months and also loved connecting with other parents who have children of similar age as mine. Her classes are the perfect balance of promoting independent play while supporting the children's physical, social and emotional needs. I also love how her circle time is fun and engaging but not too over stimulating- her toys and activities always match the level of the children perfectly:) I can't wait for more classes and advice from you Cherrie as my little "E" turns into a crazy toddler!

      - Kym Weselak

  • Practical tips and tricks

     
    The classes Cherrie offers are great to provide practical, real life examples and an opportunity to practice. The tips and tricks I learned in this class have really helped us to better manage our 22 month old. I feel that I am much better at recognizing his needs and can intervene in a way that helps both of us - de-escalating melt downs faster or preventing them all together. I also really appreciated learning how to set up and support more independent play for toddlers.

      - Laura Gentile

  • Highly RECOMMEND!

     
    Cherrie has done so much to help our kids calmly interact with one another. Her useful tips for setting up an interesting and challenging play space has changed the way our kids play! We are so grateful for her guidance and highly recommend her classes and workshops.

      - Katie Fenn

  • TOTAL GAME CHANGER!

     
    The toddler class was a game changer for us! I would recommend these classes to anyone and everyone. We noticed a difference in our 18 month old twins the first week. ✨?

      - Katie Johnston

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