Giving Yourself Grace

Published by Jaclyn Pederson, MHI on Aug 22, 2022

Back to school season – a time of change, stress, anxiety, excitement, and so much more. I’m a mom to an almost three-year-old son with another son on the way and for our family, this back-to-school season brought its own unique challenges. We switched up routines. We had big emotions. We stepped outside our comfort zones. We said goodbye to the familiar without being sure of the next step. We got to know new people and places. And it was tough.

We also lost sight of the grace that we needed to give ourselves during this time of change. I know there are others out there struggling with the same stressors so I thought I would share a few things that have helped my family and the Feeding Matters team during this season.

  1. Acknowledging our reality. Change is tough and that is ok!
  2. Not trying to force anything too hard, giving ourselves breaks and the space to adjust made a huge difference.
  3. Knowing that “success” for us may look different than we originally expected.

This grace made all the difference in the world, and it also stood as a great reminder of everything we are asking of children with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD). Having PFD is a long journey with various seasons of change and with it comes many emotions. And especially now, at the start of a school year, our kiddos with PFD may be faced with additional stress as feeding routines change.  In many classrooms, there is a child who is struggling with this whether their PFD has been diagnosed or not. So during this back-to-school time of change, I encourage you to give yourself some grace and be thinking about others who need it as well.

Best,

Jaclyn Pederson, MHI
Chief Executive Officer