Summer often brings vacations, camps and poolside BBQs, and while these changes in routine can bring big fun, they can also spell big trouble for the parents of toddlers. That’s where Big Little Feelings co-founders, Deena Margolin, child therapist, and Kristin Gallant, parent coach, come in. The duo have become Instagram dynamos, offering parents of young children tools, tips, and advice to survive not only summer’s changes in routine, but all the challenges that come with parenting young children.
In just one year, Margolin and Gallant, who have been friends since high school, have amassed over a million Instagram followers @BigLittleFeelings with their wit, relatable approach, and solid parenting advice. They understand that parenting toddlers is challenging—like, really challenging. But, before they started Big Little Feelings, they didn’t see this reality reflected on social media. While there was no shortage of images of parental perfection on Instagram, they recognized that the platform didn’t reflect their parenting reality so they set out to create a community where parents could look for help without judgment, gain skills to improve parenting, and find support on the tough days. The combination of Margolin’s experience as a licensed therapist and Gallant’s background in international maternal childhood education, as well as their own experiences of juggling work and motherhood, provides a solid foundation for their real talk about strategies to improve parenting. Their honest and open approach to surviving the toddler years has helped grow the Instagram account into an incredibly diverse following of parents and caregivers of young children.
In addition to their Instagram account, Margolin and Gallant offer a popular digital parenting course on their website, biglittlefeelings.com, designed for the parents of children ages 1 to 6. This course troubleshoots common parenting issues like bedtime battles, eating power struggles, and toddler tantrums. Margolin and Gallant recognize that time is a limited resource for parents so they broke the course into short segments divided by topic. This way parents can quickly find the support they need with ease. The course, akin to a toddler manual, also stresses that importance of developing emotionally resilient children. Throughout the course parents learn to accept that all feelings are valid, recognize how one’s own childhood plays into parenting, and how to manage not just a toddler’s big feelings—but one’s own.
Whether through the Big Little Feelings digital course or the 1.8 million Instagram followers, Margolin and Gallant are committed to real talk, safe spaces, and helping parents raise healthy happy kids. And, that’s giving parents all the feels.