Tools and strategies for busy parents seeking to instill social justice values in their children
Raising Change Agents gives parents the tools they need to weave social justice actions into their daily routines, raise socially conscious kids, and address their own triggers and trauma, helping them become more than performative, take a proactive approach, and teach their kids and themselves to live in alignment with their values, even when they feel overwhelmed with the demands of work and homelife. The author’s proven framework focuses on breaking the abstract concepts of social justice actions into bite-sized actions that parents can implement throughout the day whether during mealtime, bath time, play, or school drop off.
The book explores how to:
- Raise children to be social change agents by first becoming one
- Practice social justice in daily parenting while promoting a child’s development at the same time; each social justice action in this book is linked to developmental psychology
- Take concrete actions to support doing the “heart work” of liberation together for the long haul, because liberation starts at home
Raising Change Agents is an essential read for busy parents who believe in social justice initiatives and want to instill these values in their children but don’t yet have the tools and strategies to do so, along with practitioners, therapists, educators, and other professionals who work with children.
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction: Why Me Though? xvii
Part I the Warmup 1
1 But How Do I Stop Snapping and Screaming at My Kids? 3
2 How Do I Protect My Child From Oppression and Still Prepare Them for
Liberation? 31
3 Am I Gonna Be THAT Parent in the Group Chat? 39
4 Am I On the Right Track? 53
Part II the Playbook 65
5 Learning the Playbook Fundamentals 67
6 Writing Your Social Justice Parenting Playbook 77
Part III the Playbook Play-by-play 103
7 Estella and Kofis Playbook for Being Safe, Seen, and Social in Public
105
8 Two Playbooks for the Morning Rush 121
9 Ezra, Ava, Levi, and Lilahs Playbook for Screentime 143
10 Elena, Kareem, and Tariqs Playbook for Getting More Sleep Together 153
11 Jess, Tony, and B.G.s Playbook for Making Snacks for and by Herself 167
12 Ashikita and Cullys Playbook for Doing Homework In(ter)dependently 181
Part IV the Cooldown 191
13 From the Kitchen to Congress, Our Practice Continues. 193
Index 199
Nat Nadha Vikitsreth, LCSW, (she/her) is a dot connector, norm agitator, and practitioner of liberation who supports parents and caregivers in their efforts to make parenting political in practical ways while promoting their childrens development at the same time. Based in Chicago, she works as a nationally award-winning decolonized therapist, a keynote speaker, a community organizer, and as host of the Come Back to Care podcast.
