Today we’d like to introduce you to Shirin Galili.
Shirin, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I was an undergraduate student, one of my degrees was in legal studies. In particular, I was drawn to learning about the criminal justice system. Once in the system, it’s very hard to get out. I felt motivated to try and help, to see if I could be a positive influence, a role model in any way and so I started volunteering in juvenile hall and a couple of alternative programs to juvenile hall. Juvenile hall was very challenging because the kids would be in there for a few days, leave for a week, then be back again because of a new crime they committed. One of the alternative programs to juvenile hall was a school I was volunteering at for teenagers who were given a chance to go to this special school by the judge instead of going straight to juvenile hall. The students had to wear ankle monitors and were under strict watch of probation officers. There was one student I felt particularly connected with. Richard, 17, he would be turning 18 in a month and any wrong move would end him up in prison. Richard was asked to read in front of his peers in the classroom by his teacher. I was observing. He picked up the book and started to read aloud. After a few words, he threw down his book and he said, “This is dumb! I’m not reading this!” His teacher, assuming he was being “defiant’” and “difficult”, got angry with him and punished him. All she saw was his actions, all the while missing the underlying issues which I immediately realized — that this 17-year-old boy had a first grade reading level. He struggled through the words, embarrassed by his near illiteracy, and tried covering it up by throwing down the book in anger. It worked too. For years, he slipped through the cracks by covering up his embarrassment by acting out and “misbehaving”. Sitting in the background, observing everything, I noticed all of this. I was able to work with Richard for a short time longer, but in that time we built a positive experience around learning. It was through these types of experiences that I decided to then go receive my Masters in Education. I decided to become a teacher because I wanted to be able to help students before they got to the point where they were already in juvenile hall or on probation. I was hoping to be able to make a positive impact before they got to that point. I went on to get my Masters in Education from UCLA, a university focused on social justice education. I taught at inner city schools as well as private schools and also worked with children one-on-one. Then, I went on to have my own family, three kids in three years. Even though I had so much experience at this point working with children and helping them, there were so many moments as a parent where I felt lost. What do I do when my kid throws a tantrum? What do I do when one of my kids pulls a toy away from their sibling? There were so many other real day-to-day struggles that came about that I didn’t know how to handle. I went looking for guidance from other parents and from pediatricians and from therapists and books by “experts” and I felt so disappointed by their responses. Most people thought it was good to get tougher with kids, stricter, louder, to “show them who’s boss.” All the while, I knew internally those things would not help and would even make things worse. Their responses were similar to the teacher in that school for teenagers on probation. Their responses were reactive to a particular action, without understanding the underlying issues or how to effectively respond to them to get actual improvement. Over time, I put together all the knowledge and experience I had about education and about children and understanding them and working with them and helping them and I put together very easy-to-follow, effective & practical tools for parents.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m not a perfect parent. I have a lot of tools that help, but I also have moments where I am impatient, exhausted, overstimulated, etc.… I know that perfect parenting doesn’t exist. I always try and reiterate the point that none of us are going for perfection, not for ourselves nor for our kids, but that it’s all about improvement. I truly believe that, but I still struggle with internalizing it in those moments where my parenting is not in line with my values. The guilt is a good sign though, good parents want to keep improving.
We’ve been impressed with NŪVŪ Parenting by Shirin Galili, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I have online digital courses for parents on my website at www.nuvuparenting.com. The topics I cover in my Parenting Bundle are, “Improving Behavior”, “Resolving Sibling Rivalry”, “Managing Meltdowns”, “Conquering Bullying” and “Navigating Screentime”. These courses are easy-to-follow, very practical and give really effective tools for real-life parenting struggles. Parents can watch them from anywhere, anytime. I also do one-on-one virtual sessions with parents globally where I give tips specific to their family needs as well as give parenting lectures. I also give practical parenting tips daily on my social media channels (Instagram, Facebook and YouTube) @shirin.galili.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Growing up, my brother and I were the only kids I knew who didn’t get punishments. I didn’t understand the concept of being grounded or have things taken away or to be threatened. I know that’s exceptional, but it really formed a huge part of my childhood and adulthood. We felt very close to our parents and because of that, we didn’t want to disappoint them. That’s not to say I never made mistakes. I did, but my desire to want to do good and have my parents be proud was a stronger influence and incentive than any punishment they could’ve given me.
Pricing:
- $152 Access to all my courses in one bundle
- $18-$99 individual course prices
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nuvuparenting.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shirin.galili/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shirin.meraj
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@shirin.galili
- Other: http://www.tiktok.com/@shirin.galili
Image Credits
Avi Galili
