Muvah Motivation with Whitney Johnson

It all starts with a strong relationship. Whether you are talking about the parent-child relationship or the educator-child relationship, it is so important to have a connection with the children in your care. In some areas, we’ve lost our way. And we need to get back on track to help develop our kids’ values, education, and strengthen relationships.   That’s why I invited my dear friend, Whitney Johnson, to chat with me for this episode of the My Divine Life Podcast. Whitney is the founder of Real Muvahood LLC, a parenting support company devoted to teaching and supporting black moms through the challenges that they face through motherhood, or “muvahood” as she calls it. Her work centers around helping women build strong relationships that support them and recognizing their purpose, developing their own identity, and creating harmony between work and home life.   In addition to being a rock star mom and your biggest cheerleader, Whitney has also been known as the “preschool whisperer” after her many years in early childhood development. The insight she gives us today is unmatched. I took notes! And you need to as well. Let’s go!   Show Notes: [2:21] - Before founding her company, Real Muvahood, Whitney was known as the “preschool whisperer” on social media and noticed that all moms had the same things in common. They wanted to be good moms but lacked the time and energy and needed support. [4:20] - Whitney shares how she started this journey in childcare. She discovered she was really great with kids. [5:05] - Once Whitney had her son, she had to make a lot of changes. She knew how to take care of others’ kids, but she was scared to be a mom herself. She was scared to ask for help. [7:57] - When Whitney noticed that the kids who were behaving wonderfully for her were acting out with their parents, it clicked for her that she needed to help the moms create a safe and structured environment for their kids. [9:40] - Whitney’s Muvahood method allows women to discover themselves and show up to be their full selves for their children. This also helped their kids continue their good behavior at home. [11:15] - Jameelah shares that her son is struggling in school because his teacher doesn’t understand his gifts. Whitney also shares a story about her own son as well. [13:23] - Whitney states that there should be more black teachers to fully understand the culture and partner with parents. [14:37] - Teachers have the knowledge but the challenge is to make sure that each kid is getting what they need from school. [15:34] - Jameelah knows that if her son were in an all-black school, he would be the star student. [16:04] - As a preschool teacher, Whitney has worked with all kinds of kids. It is not about the race and upbringing of the child, but the way the teacher sets up their environment that supports each child fully. [16:29] - Class size can also be a serious issue with controlling student behavior. [17:41] - As parents, we always want to put our children in the best place we can. [18:38] - Whitney shares how her method is catered towards moms. As she shares in today’s episode, the breakdown of how she supports moms is generalized as she doesn’t know everyone’s personal details. [19:53] - Whitney’s method helps you uncover what you need from yourself, what’s missing, and how you can get it to feel comfortable in your role as a caregiver. [20:21] - There are five steps that go with each letter of MUVAH. [20:41] - M stands for mindset. Whitney gives an example of what this means. [22:08] - U stands for uncover. This is when you discover what it is you and your child need. [23:02] - V is for validation which gives your child the validation they need to support what you are working on together. This is where you model for your children. [23:53] - A stands for activate. You built everything in your home and modeled for them. Now you activate this new skill at school or with your child’s caregiver. [24:52] - H is for help and this is when you reach out to the child’s caregiver to partner together and communicate with each other to support the child. [26:19] - Children only know so much so we want to give them grace. But we don’t want to let that grace get out of hand to the point that they continue to learn boundaries. [27:20] - When it comes to boundaries, you have to make sure they’re enforceable. [27:57] - If you have to discipline your child, you need to make sure it is age appropriate. [28:36] - Whitney then says to look at the entire situation. Look at what happened and find out why it happened. The discipline needs to relate to the incident for kids to make the connection. [29:52] - The next step is that the child understands what happened, why it was wrong, what the discipline is, and what they should be doing instead. Make sure you are on the same page. [31:59] - When children aren’t making the connection between their actions and the consequence, they may start to be fearful of discipline and it could affect their confidence. [33:15] - People should not be applauded for things they are supposed to do, even children. [34:03] - Jameelah applies Whitney’s age-appropriate point to other relationships. You don’t want to treat an adult like a child. [35:31] - Whiteney’s Muvah method can be applied to any relationship and she admits that through learning it, she has learned to manage her adult relationships as well. [37:01] - Sometimes we get frustrated with teachers. But we have to remember the school system and the parameters that teachers have to work within and have grace going into any situation.  [39:15] - Parents and teachers need to have a connection to help children thrive. [40:22] - It is important for teachers, parents, and caregivers to create experiences for children. [41:49] - Diversity needs to be normalized in the classroom. Links and Resources: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on Libsyn Listen on Podnews Jameelah Davis on Instagram Whitney Johnson on Twitter The Muvahood Circle on Facebook The Muvah May I Podcast

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The goal of the My Divine Life Podcast is to create a community of women empowered with enough courage to purpose-fully design the lives they love. Women who are choosing courage over comfort by facing their fears and limitations and overcoming them by Divinely Designing their life by using Jameelah Davis’ own life design method: THE CASE METHOD. The CASE method is a thoughtfully and skillfully designed framework that provides a road map for individuals to Design the Life They Love. The CASE method consists of 4 Life design steps. These life design steps provide a holistic approach to honestly assessing your personal challenges and forging the tools you need to redirect your focus and change the course of your life. The CASE method is transformational. TRANSFORM YOUR PERSPECTIVE TRANSFORM YOUR SPACE TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE!