THE GOOD ENOUGH MOTHER PODCAST

Breaking the Rules, Living in Our Values:

A conversation with Tracy gillett of raised good

PARENTHOOD; RAISED GOOD; NATURAL PARENTING; MOTHERHOOD; DISCIPLINE; THE GOOD CHILD CONCEPT; GOOD MOTHERHOOD; THE GOOD ENOUGH MOTHER

with advocate of natural parenting and creator of the award-winning blog and community Raised Good Tracy Gillet

This conversation is with Tracy Gillet, passionate advocate of natural parenting and creator of the award-winning blog and community Raised Good. Tracy was a veterinarian for many years before starting Raised Good and we talk about how this orientation led her into diving into the science of parenting and finding ways to make it accessible for parents. 

We talk about countercultural parenting practices, parenting through connection, and the sometimes complex relationship we can have to parenting in a way that feels aligned and authentic while ‘breaking the rules’ to live in our values. We both talk candidly about our own experiences of mothering and how information and making parenting decisions is filtered through the lens of our own lived experiences, interests, cultural context, and the individual needs and personality of our child. 

I ask Tracy about the journey she’s been on in building her business and community, and if she has any advice for ways to nurture creativity and sustain energy and focus in the creation of a project and moving towards a vision as she’s done in this space for almost a decade. 

Be sure to check out Raised Good and keep an eye out for the upcoming Raised Good Online Parenting Summit 2023, coming up on September 21st. You can also download a free guide to Five Natural Parenting Secrets That Make Kids Want To Cooperate (No Time Outs, Punishments or Threats Required) click here to download. 

  • “...it's not like wanting to get out of mainstream, but then just putting us onto a different path, which is another set of rules. It's saying: there are no rules, make up your own rules. I don't want people to parent the way that I parent, I just want people to be able to parent or say what is authentic in an authentic way for them…”

    — Tracy Gillett in conversation with Sophie Brock, Ep #101 The Good Enough Mother

  • “I do think that we have become so disconnected in our culture, and we look for ways to numb our feelings all the time, we scroll on social media, we grab another cookie, we have the chocolate, we shop, alcohol, whatever the thing is, and so it's trying to set our kids up to have better mental health than what we're currently experiencing in our society.”

    — Tracy Gillett in conversation with Sophie Brock, Ep #101 The Good Enough Mother

  • “Toddlers [are] just full of authenticity, they know what they want. I just love toddlers, they haven't had it squashed out of them yet. And so many of us spend our adult lives going to therapy, trying to get back to where we started out… I think that if we can just get out of our kids’ way, and allow for the messiness of childhood and brain development and so much of their behaviour that we find irritating or annoying, is just because they're immature.”

    — Tracy Gillett in conversation with Sophie Brock, Ep #101 The Good Enough Mother

  • “It’s not about making it look perfect or Pinterest worthy, or Instagram or any of that stuff. It's just about being willing to surrender to the realness of it, and just accept that it's messy, and motherhood is messy, and we're all just trying our best.”

    — Tracy Gillett in conversation with Sophie Brock, Ep #101 The Good Enough Mother

meeT

Tracy

Tracy Gillett is an adventure-loving mum, writer and natural parenting advocate. Originally from Melbourne, she now calls a small island off the coast of Vancouver, Canada home. She is the founder of Raised Good, an award-winning blog and community that supports and empowers parents to trust and follow their instincts. Tracy was a veterinarian for many years before starting Raised Good and she loves diving into the science and making it accessible for parents. Tracy is also the author of The Lost Art of Natural Parenting, and the host of the annual Raised Good Online Summit (coming up in September). She also offers online courses to support parents with infant sleep and developing a secure attachment and well as a natural parenting membership community called Gather.

GilleTt

More information on safe infant sleep:

The Safe Sleep Seven

SIDS and Bedsharing: What Every Parent Need to Know to Keep Their Baby Safe

But just being willing to surrender to the unknown, and having a confidence in yourself that you'll figure it out as you go along.

I have no idea how I'm going to parent a teenager, but it'll be coming down the path for me, but I know I'll figure it out. And I know that I'm in it with my kid.

“...we can connect with our babies and we can go into this dance with them. And we need to lead that dance because we're the mature parents and they're the immature child. But it can be so much fun along the way, if we just throw out some of the rules.”

— Tracy Gillett in conversation with Sophie Brock, Ep #101 The Good Enough Mother

It’s not about making it look perfect or Pinterest worthy, or Instagram or any of that stuff.

It's just about being willing to surrender to the realness of it, and just accept that it's messy, and motherhood is messy, and we're all just trying our best.

— Tracy Gillett in conversation with Sophie Brock, Ep #101 The Good Enough Mother

connect with tracy

Instagram: @raisedgood

Facebook: Raised Good Blog

Website: Raised Good