The Hero Voice Doesn't Wait for Permission
Hey REK family,
Happy March! We're kicking off Parenting Awareness Month and couldn't think of a better way to spend it than celebrating the parents and educators who show up, make intentional choices, and keep showing up again — that's you, by the way.
So we're spending the whole month on a Hero Intelligence® capacity we think sits right at the heart of that: Choice Power.
Choice Power is what helps kids move from things happen to me to things happen for me. It's not about letting them run the show. It's about something quieter — making sure they know their voice is real, and that it matters.
In fact, it starts way earlier than most of us think.
Early childhood expert Janet Lansbury discovered something fascinating: babies who are simply observed, without being interrupted, redirected, or entertained, actively explore, self-direct, and problem-solve on their own. The direction a baby chooses to look? That's a choice. And when we honor it instead of overriding it, we're already building their Hero Voice.
Which means every little moment — the choice of which cup, which sock, which side of the sidewalk — is actually practice. Choice Power finding its footing.
This week, we want to share a story about a girl who found her Hero Voice young and used it to change the world.
The Girl Whose Voice Made Waves
Photo: Alex Tétreault / Canada's National Observer
Autumn Peltier was eight years old when she walked up to a tap and saw a sign that stopped her cold.
Don't drink the water. It's not safe.
She couldn't believe it. Clean water was something she'd always had. But here, in a community just miles from her home on Manitoulin Island, kids her age couldn't even drink from their own tap. Their moms were washing their babies with bottled water.
She went home and couldn't stop thinking about it.
When Autumn turned twelve, she was chosen to present a ceremonial gift to the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, at the Assembly of First Nations winter gathering in Gatineau, Quebec. Hundreds of people filled the conference hall. Her mom had spent eighteen hours making her a traditional water dress for the occasion. She had a speech prepared.
The organizers pulled her aside and told her: just present the gift. Don't say anything else.
Autumn walked up to him anyway.
Standing on that stage, in front of the crowd, she looked the Prime Minister in the eye and said, "I am very unhappy with the choices you've made."
She was twelve. She was nervous. She actually cried. But she said it.
That one choice — to use her voice when someone told her not to — changed everything. Within a year she was speaking at the United Nations in front of world leaders. By the time she was fourteen, she'd been named Chief Water Commissioner for her nation, carrying on the work of her great-aunt Josephine, who had spent decades walking the shores of the Great Lakes fighting for the same thing.
Autumn says her strength comes from knowing who she is and where she comes from. Her great-aunt taught her that water is sacred. That it has a spirit. And that protecting it isn't just a job — it's a calling.
She chose to answer it.
Ask your kids: What would you have done if someone told you not to speak up? You might be surprised what they say.
📚 Autumn Peltier is featured in our Awaken Your Inner Hero Book Bundle which you can check out here. It’s a great way to keep this conversation going at home.
The "Two Great Choices" Practice
Have you ever caught yourself asking "Do you want to go to the store?" when the store wasn't actually optional?
We've all done it. It feels kinder than just announcing what's happening. But for small kids, those kinds of questions are genuinely confusing. They hear a real question, answer honestly, and then feel blindsided when nothing actually changed.
Janet Lansbury — one of the most trusted voices in early childhood today — draws a clear line between what she calls "have-tos" and real choices. Have-tos get named honestly: "We're washing hands now — that's a have-to." Real choices live inside those boundaries: "Do you want the red soap or the blue soap?"
That small distinction tells a child something important: your power is real, and it lives here.
When kids get stuck in that back-and-forth loop — yes, no, hold me, put me down — what they actually need isn't more options. They need a parent who can hold steady and make a calm decision. Lansbury calls it Confident Momentum. Not frustration. Not accommodation. Just a quiet anchor in the storm.
This week, you might try something called Two Great Choices — where both options are ones you're genuinely fine with. Not "Do you want to go to bed or stay up?" — but "Do you want one book or two books before lights out?"
Both roads are okay with you. Your child gets to choose. Nobody loses.
It sounds simple. And it is. You might be surprised how often a transition that used to spark a standoff just... doesn't.
Before you go…
The REK Store is officially open — and this is just the beginning.
Our first drop: the Raising Humans. Not just kids. tote bag because this mission belongs out in the world.
Raising empowered humans is not easy work. It's the most important work. And we think it deserves to be seen.
This movement doesn't stop when you close your laptop. Wear it to the school run. Take it wherever you're raising humans because the best conversations happen in the most unexpected places.
And speaking of people who started a conversation that changed everything, don't miss Tammy and Sylvia's interview with Stephanie Peltier, Autumn's mom, on what it's really like to raise a child who chose to use her voice.
Source: Interview with Stephanie Peltier, mother of Autumn Peltier, Chief Water Commissioner, Anishinabek Nation
We've got a lot of good things coming your way this month. Here's to a March full of big choices and brave voices.
Your friends at REK,
Adam & Matthew Toren, Sylvia Tam, and Tammy Vallieres
Our new member hub is live — free activities, conversation starters, and resources for your family. Access it here.
“Speaking up and using your voice is very important — something I feel should be taught.”