A note from our co-founders: Why we #LeadWithLove

February 9, 2017

Jason and I have been feeling more than a little overwhelmed the last few weeks. Like you, we are adjusting to this new world order and trying to make sense of it. Find our place in it.

Amidst the chaos of events—the media, the outrage, the desire to fight, the desire to stop fighting—we are grounded by this basic principle: We can choose to #LeadWithLove.

And here is why. Parents all over the world want the same thing for our children:

• To be safe and healthy.
• To feel loved and are able to love deeply.
• To be judged on their character and actions.
• To be given equal opportunity to dream big.
• To know that they matter in the world—that they count.

And if we all want these things for our children, then we must continue to raise them with love, tolerance, equality, respect, curiosity, and a little humility.

As mums and dads, we model our values every day to our children. In our language, our jokes, our refusal to accept certain things, and our courage to speak up to others.

A few months back, my youngest son, Harper, heard me speak up when two men in our neighbourhood joked about ‘keeping their wives in line’ and one clenched his fist. I said in a friendly but firm tone, ”With all the serious issues we have with domestic violence, you guys just can’t joke about that. It is exactly what contributes to the culture of abuse.”

Luckily, they had the ability to self reflect, and they immediately said, “You are so right, Kim. Wow. Our bad.”

I tell this story because a few weeks after that, Harper was in the middle of his rugby practice and a dad said to his son, “You’re passing like a girl!” (Yes! A 45-year-old said that in 2016!!!) Harper stopped the drill and said loudly to the dad, “You mean like the Olympic Gold Medalist Girls Rugby Team?”

I couldn’t have been prouder.

So as Jason and I sit overwhelmed with the current state of the world, and ponder how we can “be the change we wish to see”, we realize we ARE doing something. We are ALL doing something.

It is called PARENTING.

And in the end, it is by far the single biggest investment we can make to ACTUALLY change the world.

Let's stand up together and #LeadWithLove