Research-based ideas for parents to connect and support your kids' development

What

Each weekly postcard covers a timely topic in one of these areas:

Cognitive Development

Build literacy, numeracy, and analysis skills. Cognitive strength gives kids a feeling of empowerment and agency in the world, helping with school and, later, job prospects.

Emotional Development

Learn to manage all the big feelings that come up in daily life. The ability to feel our feelings and maintain an emotional buoyancy is one of the most profound shapers of quality of life.

Social Development

Learn to navigate and build strong relationships. Being able to connect with others is one of the key sources of meaning and resilience throughout life.

Parent Self-care

In order to be available and supportive for our children, we also need to feel heard, supported and loved ourselves. Parenting can be a profound journey of love, connection, and healing for parents as well.

Why

Don’t just manage crises –

connect & thrive

Parenting is one of the most meaningful journeys of our lives.

It can also be the most frustrating, humbling, and terrifying journey. Most of us make it up on the fly. Often we do what our parents did – or the opposite – and only do research when an issue arises. The problem with this is that daily opportunities for better connection, communication, and emotional support often pass us by.

Have you ever wondered:

  • Is this behavior from my child normal?

  • What can I do to support their learning and development better?

  • Am I passing along dysfunctional behavior to my child?

  • How can we have more fun together?

Postcards for Parents aims to help with these questions and more, in real time, with science-based best practices.

Team

We’re parents too

Postcards for Parents is founded by Kate Howe and Dr. Liz Knake. Liz is a psychologist focusing on child and family issues, and former teacher. Kate is a designer and social entrepreneur. Liz and Kate met on the playground in Portland, Maine.

We know there are lots of parenting books and other resources out there, but have found that most of them are aimed at solving particular problems, rather than the ongoing practice of creating great relationships with our kids. Our aim is to support parents over time, with weekly information on development and research-based ideas about how support and connect with your kids.

We have personally experienced that the benefits for the whole family are priceless!

Dr. Liz Knake

Liz is a mom and a licensed clinical psychologist who works with people across the lifespan. She earned her doctorate at The George Washington University. Liz has worked with children with anxiety, depression, and behavioral issues, as well as those going through major life changes, such as parents’ divorce. Liz has also worked extensively with adults who have experienced complex and/or acute trauma, as well as those struggling with relationship issues, depression, and anxiety. Prior to becoming a psychologist, Liz was an elementary school teacher. Liz has a BA in English with a Women’s and Gender Studies concentration from Williams College and a master’s in education from Bank Street College of Education.

Kate Howe

Kate is a mom, designer, and creative entrepreneur. Kate is obsessed with creating design that improves the meaningful things in people’s lives, and has long worked with human-centered design for community and economic development. Prior to Postcards for Parents, Kate was Head of Graphic Design at the NYC Dept. of Design & Construction. She also founded and built a community outdoor market, created a psychology app, and wrote a blog about the psychology of shopping. Kate holds a BA Summa Cum Laude from Columbia University, and an MFA from Yale School of Art.

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