My personal experience with Nacho Parenting. What got me there. How I found it. And how it has helped.
If you follow the blog and have read along, you know by now that our road blending families came with challenges and setbacks.
January 2025 will, unfortunately, go down in the history books. No need to go into details; all you need to know is that it was awful.
It affected me personally.
It had the ability to affect my children personally.
And thank you, God, for good communication and relationships so that did not happen.
BUT, it did do something to me.
Keep in mind, as I said in a previous post, I have been in therapy for years. Love it, think everyone needs it.
So when the unimaginable happened, of course, where else do you turn? Therapy… and a couple trustworthy outside confidants.
That is when a friend looked at me and said, verbatim: “Girl, NACHO PARENT. I’m nacho parent, you nacho my kid, NACHO.” I am pretty sure my response was along the lines of, “Huh?”
Then she went on to explain Nacho Parenting to me and sent me straight over to Nacho Kids (who you can find on YouTube and Instagram).
Nacho Parenting may sound harsh, but it’s not, and you get to determine your level of “Nacho,” because it is different for every family.
Nacho for a 14-year-old is most likely going to be different than a 6-year-old.
That is where I began to run into some challenges until I figured it out.
Listen, when I first found Nacho Parenting, I was so hurt and angry, I was Nach-ing EVERYTHING, because I felt that I had to. I mean everything from a hairbrush to a car ride. NACHO…. But then…
I traveled the road of forgiveness, kept with therapy, and realized that wasn’t my heart and wasn’t who God called me to be. And when I began to look inward, those extremes released.
They pretty much had to.
My husband has to be at work before the kids are awake for school. Nacho or not, it is my responsibility to care for them, feed them, make sure they are prepared, get them to school, etc. And that same holds true when my husband works late due to his second job.
So you see, I am not in a position to full-out Nacho.
But here we are, a few months from 2 years out, and I have learned how to turn the dial up and down, and when it is necessary. I can love them, care for them, and show up for them while still recognizing that not every problem is mine to solve, not every behavior is mine to correct, or not every decision is mine to make.
I have read stories and received comments praising Nacho Parenting and how it has literally saved families.
Pretty sure it had a big part in saving ours when life went AWOL.
If you, or someone you know, is having difficulty blending a family, or having issues when it comes to step-parenting, go find Nacho Kids! I promise, you won’t regret it.
God Bless, friends.
~ Stace
If you are a resident in the State of Alabama and you have experienced extreme difficulty and would like to report an anonymous incident, feel free to head over to StepAL.org to report. Data is currently being collected for future reporting to the State Judiciary Committee for a proposed Blended Family Protection Act.
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