How For Our Kids helps parents grow power together

By Lella Blumer, For Our Kids National Council member

Here’s something I’ve noticed: there are parenting guides out there for just about every possible scenario a parent might find themselves in – and some highly improbable ones too. From the moment you share that you’re expecting, advice flows your way about birthing, feeding, teething, sleeping, and burping, not to mention all the helpful suggestions about how to get them to stop crying. 

There’s a big gap, though, when it comes to guidance about parenting a child through an existential crisis like the environmental catastrophe happening all around us. Our protective instincts feel completely inadequate in the face of tropical storms bigger than anything we’ve seen before, deadly heat, choking wildfire smoke, and an accelerating loss of species that’s threatening water and food chains. 

Many people will have stopped reading this by now, and it’s hard to blame them. It’s overwhelming, painful, infuriating, and confusing to deal with reality, and too easy to be distracted into looking away. 

Except that looking away is contrary to the prime directive of parenting: to be present, to notice, to comfort, and to explain the world in ways that empower kids to find their place here. 

So how do we brace ourselves to navigate everyday uncertainty, onto which is layered a climate emergency, with kids in tow? I’ve learned that it helps a lot to do it together with others.. 

When For Our Kids was founded in 2019, it was a beacon for parents who were beginning to feel very scared about the future their kids faced, even – especially – if they weren’t scientists or climate experts. For the hundreds of parents I engaged with over my five years as a FOK organizer, the idea of connecting with others who shared their fears, their fierce love for next generations, and their determination to tak action, was a lifesaver. 

It was a lifesaver for me, too. After years of advocating into the void when my own kids were young, it was energizing to find that others cared about understanding and deepening their relationships with the natural world we’re part of. That they cared more about being responsible citizens than about being consumers, in the face of the continuous corporate advertising that’s replaced our human story with cultural myths crafted to maximize monetary profits for the few. 

You can see how familiar I am with the path down that rabbit hole. I still go there. At the same time, being part of the For Our Kids network gives me a healthier and more productive avenue to make change happen.      

This grassroots, open network creates a virtual space for parents to ask questions they’re uncomfortable asking their friends or family members, to find credible, evidence-based information, and to explore how the impacts of climate change are intertwined with a history of colonialism, resource extraction, and systemic racism and inequality. And then to plan actions that fit with their values, strengths, and capacity. All of this supported by a small team of organizers who gather experts and resources and put together campaigns and training based on what parents say is most important to them.  

In very little time, individuals who have never spoken to, and possibly haven’t ever voted for, their elected politicians become part of delegations advocating for policy changes. People who normally stay in their circles find themselves reaching out to neighbours and strangers, having conversations about some heavy topics they wouldn’t have dreamed about raising before. After long days of work and family life, parents log on to Zoom calls to learn, plan, and support each other, from all corners of the country. Calls that are often made all the more meaningful by babies in arms and kids needing bedtime stories. 

Has it made a difference? Absolutely. The difference goes beyond the fact that you can find For Our Kids groups and parents speaking up and being heard on the issues that are publicly debated across the country, in the media, in elected representatives’ offices, and in communities. The difference looks like a mom and her three-month-old son sitting across the table from TD bank’s top environmental officials, telling them they’re not doing enough to address the harm their investments in fossil fuel industries are causing him. It looks like families cleaning up shorelines and forests, planting trees and gardens, and learning about true stewardship of the lands they’re on, from Indigenous communities who have stewarded them from time immemorial. Like usually-quiet parents joining their school councils, taking part in demonstrations, and writing letters to decision-makers. Kids creating art that captures what they find beautiful about the planet, and what they want to protect, and sharing their art to spark that emotion in others. Families biking en masse to show they want healthy, safe transportation alternatives to cities designed around cars. Parents connecting in schoolyards and playgrounds, inviting others to join in inclusive, non-judgemental, welcoming conversations. And so, so much more. 

It’s been a privilege to see this happening, and to be inspired again and again to trust in the possibilities that are available to us if we support each other, and ask for each other’s support.    

Parents are more powerful together. That power comes from knowing we are not in these dark, uncertain times alone. That we can make things better for each other and for our communities - and that we are absolutely called to do so. For our kids. 

If this piece inspires you to support For Our Kids, make a donation today! We're aiming to raise $10,000 by early 2026 -- will you help us get there? 

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