Recently my mom relayed to me that my father was working in Medicaid clinics once a week to supplement his income for the first 10 years of his private practice. This past couple of years I had been feeling discouraged at how slowly my nutrition private practice was building up and my mom's anecdote made … Continue reading Setting More Realistic Expectations
Author: Gila Daman
Latest release: Inner Piece: Decluttering a Soul. Also by Gila: Pandemic Poetry, She Pooped, I'm Pooped!: Motherhood Year One, First Comes Self-Love, Then Comes Marriage, and The Roadmap Ends Here: Entering Adulthood.
Career and Motherhood
Two years ago, I left my stable 9-5 nutritionist job that I had for six years in NYC to move to a city with a slower pace of life and more affordable living. I took a break from growing my career and chose to focus solely on growing my family—I was 5 months pregnant when … Continue reading Career and Motherhood
Personal Growth after Becoming a Parent
This past week I attended a very inspiring talk about parenting and educating children. It was about finding the balance between love and limits and how to better prepare our children to deal with frustration and struggle in school and in life. Also, on how to motivate kids to find and cultivate their unique strengths. … Continue reading Personal Growth after Becoming a Parent
My Journey to Becoming an Early Childhood Educator
I've always had an interest in child development. My goal as a nutritionist was to work in an outpatient pediatric setting to counsel children and their families on how to lead a healthier lifestyle. After grad school, I was blessed to find a job that did just that, and worked there for 6 years! Now, … Continue reading My Journey to Becoming an Early Childhood Educator
Fussing not Fussy
When a child does something wrong, I have learned that it is better to say they are doing something bad instead of they are bad. In a similar vein, I recently decided while working in the baby room that when a baby is fussing, I will say/think, "that baby is fussing," instead of "that baby … Continue reading Fussing not Fussy
15 Seconds for Your Health
Having worked in a hospital setting for 7 years, I am very conscientious about hand-washing—I make sure to rub my soapy hands together for 15 seconds! Whenever I go to the school bathroom, I am reminded about this procedure by the sign posted about the sink. That is to be expected. What's unique is when … Continue reading 15 Seconds for Your Health
Cool as a Cucumber: Bringing Healthy Snacks to School
Some people assume that if they give their child a healthy snack, they will stand out from their peers in a bad way; the other students will think they are weird, or more likely, their kid will feel bad for having to eat carrot sticks while their friends have gushers, or the like. But that … Continue reading Cool as a Cucumber: Bringing Healthy Snacks to School
See You Tuesday!
Two Fridays ago, my co-workers were saying to each other, "See you Tuesday!" It was a long weekend, MLK day was the following Monday. Sometimes in life certain mundane phrases take on special meaning, and hearing, "See you tuesday!" jolted my mind into childhood memories. My dad always worked late nights—often into the wee hours … Continue reading See You Tuesday!
Social Comparison and Childhood Ping Pong Tournaments
Last week my husband started an online course in coding. As I listened in to the introductory portion of his class, I was so intimated by all the other participants—finance, researchers, startup founders—comparing myself (and, by extension, my loved ones) to others has always been a weakness of mine, and I'm still working on it! … Continue reading Social Comparison and Childhood Ping Pong Tournaments
Why Money Isn’t Everything
My co-worker once commented that I could be making the same amount of money working as a part-time nutritionist for fewer hours than I work as an early childhood educator. When I decided to pursue a career in nutrition when I was in college it wasn't for the money, and now, when I am working … Continue reading Why Money Isn’t Everything
Mindful Nuggets 