Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Pamela Groves. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Pamela, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
As a young mom homeschooling my children, I fell in love with Princeton Public Library in New Jersey.
I loved walking the vast, quiet corridors of book stacks, the people with bowed heads. Everyone had a place in the library. Or maybe the library had a place for everyone. It was a powerful message of inclusion.
As a preteen, my daughter loved realistic fiction, sad books in particular. The librarian Terri Nelson understood her inner world of angst as only a librarian could. She took my daughter into the stacks.
“Oh this is a beautiful one”, she would mutter dreamily, smelling like cough drops and tobacco. “And this one, it isn’t sad, but you will love it. Tell me what you think after you’ve read it.”
Terri was in her forties, a white woman who had attended Berkeley and had opinions about “politics, race relations, and rock and roll”; my daughter was 8 or 9 or 11 years old, and in each one of those book-talking moments, they just got each other.
Watching these interactions, I stumbled on my purpose. I began my Masters in Library and Information Science at Rutgers University and began a 25+ year career at the Princeton Public Library.
My mother, creative and entrepreneurial, founded a private preparatory (elementary) school in Jamaica in 1954 with very little money and many barriers. Her goal was to educate children into a “life of service to self and country” with a strong focus on personal development.
Hers was one of the few schools of its size on the island that had an orchestra and a choir, offered Spanish as a second language and dance and theater instruction to young children. From her I learned to value learning as a lifelong process. She would challenge her staff to bring schoolwork alive. It was a novel approach at the time.
She modeled the importance of learning outside of school and well into adulthood through her own adventurous travel experiences and a stint as an actress in the theater in her sixties. It is her influence as well as all the mentors I had as a librarian have brought me to this present moment.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
There’s nothing like a life-changing diagnosis to slam you into a state of deep reflection. After two years of grueling (but successful!) treatments for colorectal cancer, I found myself in remission. I was torn between staying at the Princeton Public Library, a secure job with a good future, or pursuing a risky entrepreneurial dream.
Fear gripped me for months until I ran out of time: the library needed to know my plans and it was time to make a decision.
The passing of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) was momentous for someone like me who had a pre-existing condition and wanted to be self-employed. Access to affordable health insurance could no longer be denied.
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak and had dabbled in small business efforts before, so, why not again? If not now, when? I was ready to make a bold change to birth the vision of Baby Wordplay. I felt competent, capable and committed to bringing it to life.
I planned Baby Wordplay from my living room couch (or more often from the couch of friends!) and it seemed as if each chemo and radiation treatment breathed life into the dream. It certainly was a welcome distraction. I opened Little Theater in 2013, the first of three brick-and-mortar theaters-come-bookstores for babies and toddlers in Philadelphia.
Seven years later in 2020, the pandemic hit and I closed all three locations, the future unknown.
Gone were the critical face-to-face, cara-a-cara, interactions for young children. I lamented the sudden, wide acceptance of screen use for young children. It was, of course, understandable given the crisis, but I didn’t like it one bit.
My daughter, about to give birth to her first child, said, “Mom, why don’t you start a podcast FOR babies? There are podcasts about pregnancy, and parenting, but I don’t think a podcast meant for babies exists.”
Truth be told, I wasn’t completely sure what a podcast was. I understood that one listened rather than watched a podcast and that intrigued me. I investigated and found that she was right –there were many podcasts about babies, but none FOR them.
Had I stumbled on a novel idea whose time had come?
Four months later I launched the Small Talk Baby Podcast on Spotify, with eighty 15-minute episodes. I was excited about giving parents a screen-free tool to use with their babies, from birth. I called it theater for a baby’s ears.
Parents know that they should read, should talk, and should sing to their young children. But who shows parents how to do this? Who is there to support them on this very important journey?
Small Talk Baby Podcast is an accessible tool that actually teaches the foundation of language while helping parents build a daily routine around words, songs and rhymes. Not to mention the wonderful, unique bonding that takes place as they experience each episode together.
I made the podcast for parents who are new to the idea of talking, reading and even singing to their babies. It’s for parents who need a repertoire of songs and rhymes to engage their young children; for families who want to help their child learn English.
I published the podcast and then promptly forgot about it as I turned my attention to salvaging what I could of Baby Wordplay in Philadelphia.
When I thought of the podcast again, six months had passed, and to my surprise, it had been downloaded thousands of times and had garnered scores of positive reviews on Apple and Spotify.
One mom, Gina K. said, “I have four-month old twins who were in hospital for the first three months. I didn’t know how to make up for that time in their development. As new parents we were at a loss. Until I found you. I’m so grateful to hear someone who sounds like me teaching me how to do amazing things with my baby girls. Thank you!”
Teacher StaceyAnn said, “Love the podcast! I want to thank you so much for bringing fun and wonder into the workplace!”
Dad, Calvin S. said, “We love your podcast! You’ve taught me, a first time Dad, so much. We listen to you all the time and your calming, beautiful voice is exactly what my daughter loves. You’ve taught me to sing as well!”
Small Talk Baby Podcast had become a valuable resource that was giving parents the confidence to be their child’s first teacher in the area of language. Equally important, here was a screen-free alternative that parents could use to give themselves a 10-minute break to do things like go to the bathroom!
As a child’s first teacher, when a parent reads, sings and talks to their baby, they have set the stage for a collaborative learning environment rather than an authoritarian or dry one. This helps to (hopefully) foster a lifelong joyful collaboration around learning. When learning is fun, we have fun learning!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on.
The first thing I would focus on is being secure in your vision and your skills. If you are not secure, it will be difficult to articulate your vision and harness the skills necessary to succeed.
Being able to listen to people in a way that makes them feel heard and valued is a powerful skill. Good listening means talking less and being present. Don’t rush in to fill the silences.
For folks on the journey towards, perhaps, a dream.
If possible, find a mentor or colleague who has relevant experience, wisdom and creativity! Listen and share honestly.
Be honest with yourself: ask yourself important questions and answer them thoughtfully:
For example, are you capable of doing what is required? If you are not, are you willing to do what it takes to become capable, if that is an option.
Can you live with uncertainty and stay centered and present, seeing things as they are and not how you may wish them to be?
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I would love to collaborate or partner with folks working in the pregnancy, birth and parenting community – midwives, doulas, lactation specialists, speech and language professionals, maternal mental health providers, pediatricians etc. Also, day care and nursery providers, early years educators, parenting coaches.
Really, anyone who plays a role in helping babies develop and thrive from birth will appreciate learning about and sharing Small Talk Baby Podcast with their communities.
The more we model the joy in words and language for our little ones, the more likely they will become readers, thinkers and more successful adults. Anyone interested in finding out more, please email Miss Pam at [email protected] with “Bold Journey Connect” in the subject line. Thank you for reading!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.babywordplay.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babywordplay/
