Today we’d like to introduce you to Sanjana and Lena Manek. They share their story with us below:
The seed for Connect 2 Kid started when Lena became a first-time parent in 2016. Our true inspiration was and continues to be our little one, who brought so much love and joy into their family. They wanted to be better for her and positively impact her life so that she could have a strong foundation.
In March 2020, when COVID-19 became a pandemic, countries around the world were shutting down, and everyone experienced isolation from family and community support; parents of infants and toddlers approached the sisters to ask for advice and support. Lena is a pediatric physical therapist, and Sanjana is a trained school counselor and early childhood professional. They realized that parents needed extra support, encouragement, and a reminder of how important these early years are, especially when parents felt stressed or challenged by their little one’s behavior. The sisters focus on empowering parents to grow their children’s physical and social-emotional skills for future success.
The best part of it all? Our little one is now 6 years old, and she loves being a part of Connect 2 Kid activities; she said she wanted to be included in the magazine article too! We bought her a Connect 2 Kid t-shirt, and she helps us share bubbles to children at our events. At our last reading event, she decided to bring a “reading buddy,” which was a great way to connect with the children and families. We have created something special that we can share with her. Another plus is that we are more conscious of our behavior and how we impact and affect her as she grows.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been far from a smooth road creating something from scratch and bringing an idea to life. A few times, we almost gave up, but then we kept reminding ourselves that our mission was too important to keep inside of us. Some of the challenges we faced were: reaching more parents to join our community and movement and encouraging parents to seek support or ask questions because many parents feel judged and alone.
In regards to starting a business and marketing, it truly takes time to understand how to explain what we do and how we can help parents and by extension their children. Our product is less tangible, so we work hard to learn how to communicate clearly so that we can empower more parents and help positively impact the next generation. Building a new brand takes time, and building a community takes effort, but we know that it is worth it because the mission and movement will make a big difference in a child’s life. Children thrive when they have a community of supporters in their corner cheering them on and believing in them, reminding them that they matter.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We are on a mission to empower parents with supporters in their corner and normalizing self-care. We know that it takes a village to raise a child, and we want every child to thrive. We believe in the power of the parent-child connection and the importance of the early childhood years. We coach parents with babies/infants, toddlers, and preschoolers during challenging moments in their parenting journey.
Lena specializes in supporting and empowering parents of babies/infants and children with special needs. She also is an expert in teaching parents how to encourage first steps by using play. She loves to jog, bake and spend time with her children. She just gave birth to a baby boy and has been documenting what has been helpful for her as a pediatric physical therapist and mother of two!
Sanjana specializes in supporting and empowering parents with toddlers and preschoolers with the social-emotional skills and strengthening the parent-child connection. Sanjana is trained in the Non-Violence Resistance training (NVR School of Israel) and play therapy strategies which gives her a cultural sensitive approach to coaching parents with littles. As a former early childhood educator, she also believes in the power of the teacher-child relationship as teachers have a big influence on children’s lives, as well as parents.
What sets us apart is our powerful pairing and that we are sisters who cherish our family and want to help other families. We have both been told that our calming personality and positivity have been encouraging and supportive in our work. We love having fun within our sessions and we love celebrating and highlighting the wins our parents have. Many times, parents are focused on what is not going well, so we encourage them to share with us one thing that is going well. After speaking with us parents feel more confident and reassured that they are already doing many things that are helpful for their children’s growth and development. If a parent struggles to share a win, we love to encourage them and find those wins!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
We love that Orlando is known for being a place for families and connection! It is also a place where families can have fun which helps connection grow! We love so much about Orlando.
Pricing:
- One-on-one Monthly Support (includes unlimited text/email support) – $75
- Free 15-minute one-on-one consult
Contact Info:
- Website: www.connect2kid.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/connect2kid
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/connect2kid
- Youtube: Connect 2 Kid
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/connect-2-kid/
