Helping Kids Navigate Change and Risk - with Melissa and Chris Bruntlett - The A-Parently Podcast #30

Change is hard.It's hard for us when our patterns are interrupted, our expectations aren't met or a new reality is set before us.Bundle in kids, and dealing with change goes from "hard" to feeling impossible. We not only have to figure it out for ourselves but really coach kids through what may be a new and scary experience for them.Changes of all sizes can be hard, but can you imagine what it would be like to pick up a whole family with two kids and move across the ocean?While imagine no more! In this episode, Melissa and Chris Bruntlett join A-Parently to share not only how they made this big change, but how they involved their children in it. Tune in for lots of excellent advice and stories about how their kids learned and grew in their comfort with independence and managing risk while living in the Netherlands.-Guests Bio:Melissa and Chris Bruntlett are Canadian authors and urban mobility advocates who strive to communicate the benefits of sustainable transport and inspire happier, healthier, more human-scale cities. Their first book, Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality, explored the decisions that established the Netherlands as a bicycle paradise, and how communities are translating these ideas to build their own cycling cities. Now based in Delft, the Netherlands, Melissa works with Mobycon—a bi-continental mobility consultancy—supporting the promotion of Dutch transport knowledge, policy, and design principles in countries around the world. As Communications Manager for the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Chris uses his knowledge and passion to share practical lessons for global cities wishing to learn from the Netherlands’ extraordinary success. Their second book, Curbing Traffic: The Human Case for Fewer Cars in Our Lives, was published by Island Press in June 2021.