Head Start + Parenting Blind Spots
This Thursday at SoulThursdays.com (ZOOM), I want to explore a question that keeps getting bigger the longer I sit with it:
What are we actually developing in our children?
Not just whether they are doing well today.
Not just whether they are getting good grades, staying out of trouble, or succeeding in the environments we place them in.
But what are those environments—and our choices as parents—preparing them to become?
This week, we’re approaching that question from two very different points in a child’s developmental journey.
Early childhood.
And the years when parents begin realizing that the child is changing—and their parenting may need to change too.
It Starts Earlier Than We Think
We are beginning with Dr. Stephanie M. Curenton for a conversation called:
The Power of a Head Start
Why Early Childhood Environments Matter
Featuring Dr. Stephanie M. Curenton
Dr. Stephanie M. Curenton is a developmental and community psychologist whose work examines children within the families, classrooms, communities, and systems that shape their development.
And our conversation begins with Head Start.
But this is not simply a conversation about a preschool program.
It raises a much bigger question:
What happens when we invest in children early—before something has gone wrong?
We spend a lot of time evaluating children.
Is the child ready for school?
Can they sit still?
Are they behind?
Are they behaving appropriately?
Are they meeting expectations?
But Stephanie’s work invites us to turn the lens around.
What if the question is not always, “What is wrong with this child?”
What if sometimes we need to ask, “What is happening around this child?”
Because children do not develop in isolation.
And sometimes changing the child may not be the first thing that needs our attention.
And somewhere along the way, one of the hardest parts of parenting may be recognizing that the child has changed—but our parenting has not changed with them.
Because the four-year-old eventually becomes eight.
Then twelve.
Then sixteen.
Then eighteen.
That’s why we’re going to move forward along the developmental journey.
The Parenting Blind Spot: What Loving Parents Don’t Always See
Featuring Dr. Christina Christian
Dr. Christina Christian is an educator, researcher, and parent advocate whose work explores how families, schools, and communities can work together to support children’s development, resilience, and success. As an educator and mother of two adult sons, she brings both professional expertise and lived parenting experience to the question of how we move from simply protecting our children to intentionally preparing them for the people they are becoming.
She gave me a deceptively simple question during one of our workshop planning conversations:
Who do you want your child to become?
Not what career do you want them to choose.
Not what college do you want them to attend.
What kind of human being are you trying to help develop?
Responsible?
Independent?
Courageous?
Compassionate?
Then comes the harder question:
What are we doing today that actually gives them opportunities to develop those qualities?
That is where Thursday’s conversation gets interesting.
We’re going to explore:
Can loving, attentive parents still have blind spots?
How do fear, embarrassment, or our own emotions influence parenting decisions?
And how do we know what our child needs from us now, rather than what they needed from us five years ago?
Why Put These Conversations Together?
At first glance, Dr. Stephanie Curenton and Dr. Christina Christian might appear to be having two different conversations.
They’re not.
Stephanie helps us think about the environments we build around children early.
Christina helps us think about what parents intentionally develop within children as they grow.
One asks us to look at the ecosystem surrounding a young child.
The other asks parents to look at the choices, opportunities, and environments that continue shaping that child over time.
Put them together and a larger question emerges:
Are we simply trying to help our children succeed today—or are we intentionally preparing them to become capable adults tomorrow?
That is the conversation I want us to have Thursday.
Not because there is one perfect way to parent.
And not because parents need another person telling them what they are doing wrong.
But because sometimes a better question can help us notice something we have never thought to look for.
Join Us LIVE
📅 Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026
🕗 8:00 PM ET
🎥 LIVE on Zoom
🌐 SoulThursdays.com
Featuring:
Dr. Stephanie M. Curenton
The Power of a Head Start: Why Early Childhood Environments Matter
Dr. Christina Christian
The Parenting Blind Spot: What Loving Parents Don’t Always See
Bring your questions.
Bring your experiences.
And bring another parent, educator, caregiver, mentor, or community member who cares about how we prepare the next generation.
Calvin Creates
Founder & Executive Producer
🎓 1828 Manhood Academy — Identity & leadership development for young men ages 18–28
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🌐 Community Education Collective — Connecting people, knowledge & community through education
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👨👩👧👦 PrepParenting — Intentional parenting for raising capable, confident young people
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