Have you ever wondered why someone spends fifteen years in one line of work, then suddenly shifts focus? It's not always a pivot away from something — sometimes it's discovering the thing that was quietly the point all along.
In this article: → Why do parents matter so much when it comes to identity? → What's actually different about parenting a culturally blended child? → When does parenting really start — and does it ever finish?
Why Do Parents Matter So Much When It Comes to Identity?
For fifteen years, I've worked in personal branding — supporting people moving into new seasons of life. A new country. A new job. Going back to school. Getting ready to retire and finally build a life on their own terms.
Somewhere along the way, someone asked me: "So you work with parents too now? How does that fit in?"
Here's the honest answer: parents are on the front line of identity and belonging every single day. They're the ones raising kids who are figuring out who they are and where they fit — often in a world that looks nothing like the one the parents themselves grew up in. There's no manual for this. No manual for parenting from the inside out, for helping a child build a real sense of who they are and where they belong.
If this is the tension you're sitting in right now as a parent, you're not alone — this is exactly what we work through in coaching.
What's Actually Different About Parenting a Culturally Blended Child?
My daughter Ashley was in her twenties when we began writing a book together about this. More recently, we built a full course specifically for parents raising children who find their sense of belonging across more than one culture — because that number keeps growing, quietly, all around us.
And here's the thing worth naming plainly: even if your own children aren't culturally blended, chances are there's a child in your world who is. A grandchild, a niece or nephew, a friend's kid. This isn't a niche experience anymore — it's becoming a common one.
When Does Parenting Really Start — And Does It Ever Finish?
I think about parenting differently than most people do. It doesn't start the moment a child is born — it starts the moment you realize you're going to have one. And it never really finishes. Parenting a twenty-year-old looks nothing like parenting a five-year-old. But it's still parenting.
That's really why I do this work now. When we support parents today, we're supporting young people tomorrow. Helping a parent find the language and confidence to raise a child through questions of identity and belonging is, in a very real sense, still the same work I've always done — just at its most meaningful point of leverage.
If there's a child in your world navigating identity across cultures — yours or someone else's — my course for parents, Parenting a Culturally Blended Child, walks through exactly this.
If you'd rather watch than read, this story is also on YouTube.
