The Bachelor of Commerce alumnus is a true life-long learner who tends to seek education for a holistic view and comprehensive understanding of things that concern her.
Tu-Anh had built a successful career in marketing before becoming the mother of two beautiful girls in 2018 and 2019 respectively. This life changing event also marked her first encounter with psychology.
“Like all first-time parents out there, I’ve relied on books and online peers for parenting tips but found it hard to look for certified and credible sources,” Tu-Anh shared.
“Many friends of mine have also faced similar challenges on their parenting journey, and don’t have time to validate the information they’ve found.
“So, I decided to start undertaking courses such as science of parenting, newborn baby care specialisation, and share what I have learnt and observed on my personal social media accounts.”
Tu-Anh’s sharing has been widely welcomed by her followers.
“Initially it was for myself and my family and I wanted to develop my interest in this field,” she said. “But the more I learn, the deeper I immerse myself in it.”
Within two years from 2020-2022, while raising her two daughters, Tu-Anh undertook various postgraduate courses and got her master’s degree in Child and Adolescent Psychology. She’s now a PhD candidate of the only doctoral program in the world that offers a degree in Early Childhood Development with an emphasis on mental health and developmental disabilities – the Doctor of Philosophy, Psychology – Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health at Fielding Graduate University, the USA.
To offer a reference channel for more parents and children, Tu-Anh founded Happy Parenting where parents can seek counselling on infant and early years development, child-parent interaction and behaviours management, socio-emotional attachment, psycho-educational for parents of children with special needs, and various other face-to-face and online programs and pre-recorded courses. After two years, almost 2000 learners have benefited from her self-developed and insightful courses.
She is also the author of two parenting books "Làm mẹ rất vui - Cẩm nang 365 ngày đầu bên con" (Motherhood is fun – Guideline for the first 365 days with your child) and "Hiểu con để dạy con Tích cực: 1-3 tuổi" (Understand your child to raise them positively: 1-3 years old).
“Infant and early years development is a niche and developing area in Vietnam where practitioners have to learn on the go and seek for mentoring elsewhere,” Tu-Anh shared.
Apart from working on her PhD thesis, Tu-Anh is working as a teaching assistant of RMIT Bachelor of Psychology program and continues undertaking practical counselling courses to get alternative perspectives and approaches from her peers around the world and supervision from global practitioners.
“I want to create an environment where my children can grow up freely and maximise their potentials,” Tu-Anh said. “This cannot be done without a community that I hope to build through my constant work and sharing.”
“Doing parenting is like being a gardener, don’t sculpt your children like a carpenter” is Tu-Anh’s message to all parents who reach out to her for advice.
Story: Ha Hoang
