Carmen Johnson is one of the cutest moms on the planet. Seriously. I met her 6 years ago when our oldest were in kindergarten class together. Her bubbly personality is contagious. Carmen is always smiling and ALWAYS having fun with her two boys. When her boys were little, she didn’t even think twice when they wanted to wear pj’s 24/7, no problem, Carmen is a go-with-the-flow kind of mom. And her boys adore her for it. Not to mention, she’s a single mom, but that doesn’t slow her down one single bit.
Recently, Carmen started a new business venture as a Health & Wellness coach and typical of Carmen, she has put her heart and soul into it. I’ll let her tell you all about it.
Smarties, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Carmen Johnson!
Carmen’s Smarty Mom Stats
Mom of: Case 12, Brayes 10
Years in Charlotte? 16
Hood – SouthPark
Hometown – Walterboro, SC
Occupation – Motivational Speaker on Health & Wellness
Tell us exactly what a Health Coach is?
Interestingly enough, Health Coaches come in many forms and disciplines. My particular passion as a Health Coach focuses on teaching children and their mothers the “Simple” Science of their cells , offering compelling evidence as to how food choices affect their health and what 3 critical changes they all should make in order to build the healthiest, disease-free bodies that they can!
How do you integrate children into the mix?
I use a unique approach in that my target audience is actually Elementary Ages Children. As a single mother of 2 young boys, I came to realize that our children are the “button pushers” at meal-time and often control what goes into our bodies as well as their own. The food battle is one of the hardest battles a Mother will ever encounter and by educating the children and encouraging them to “help teach” their parents how to make healthier food choices, it’s a win/win for both parent and child where battles end and healthy eating begins! A little knowledge is powerful thing!
The other thing that I have found is that Mom’s will often put their children’s health & well-being ahead of their own… I know I do…and by utilizing the persuasive power inherent in all children, I’ve found that parent’s often change their eating habits, whereas without this compelling reason, many Mom’s would let their health go and constantly give in to their children’s demands around what they will and will not eat.
By equipping theses children with some “simple” science and the permission to “help” their parents feed them better foods, there is an amazing shift in power around the dinner table and outside the home when it comes to food choices. And the children seem to find it easier to avoid “unhealthy” foods more so than the parents because their bad habits haven’t been completely ingrained in them over the past 20 years.
If you’d like to see some real-world feedback and the impact my lessons are having, I’ve listed some neat responses on my website @ http://www.mindingwhatmatters.com/events
What schools are you teaching in and how can I get this to my school?
Currently contracted with MACS – After School Enrichment Program to teach Nutrition at all 5 elementary schools for 2012-2013. ( Yeah!) . In negotiating with Providence Day, Charlotte Latin, Country Day, Charlotte Christian, Fletcher & Myers Park Baptist to possibly teach in their afterschool programs as well.
My corporate mission, since inception, has been to reach at least 10,000 children within Mecklenburg County over the next 3 years. I have started with the private school sector where I have some connections. However, my ultimate goal would be to reach all the Elementary schools in Mecklenburg County. We are at near epidemic proportions with Diabetes, Obesity, ADHD, Autism, & Allergies affecting our country and my goal is to somehow impact and shift the tide by enlightening children about the control that they have over their own health and well-being, with the main driver is their food choices..!
On a side note, I’m also a Guest Speaker with the” Live Well, Cornwell Program”, The Cornwell Center @ Myers Park Baptist Church.
If you are interested in having me present to your school, scouts, athletic team, Bunko group, Women’s Club, dance group, Church group, employees, or students, please feel free to give me a call @ 704-641-9176 to discuss how I can best serve you!
What is your best Smarty tip for packing a healthy lunch/dinner for fams heading to the pool this summer?
We are in the peak season for fresh fruits & veggies, so one of my favorite snacks is some fresh dehydrated fruit. It keeps well at pool side and goes nicely with Triscuits & Cheddar Cheese. A filling mix of treats that travels well.
What is it like to be a single mom?
Oh my gosh! Did you have to ask that? Well, someone once told me I didn’t have the “stones” to be both a mother and a father to my children.,. and I’d be lying if I said it was ease doing 90% of it on my own…..but hey, I’m a girl from the South! I know how to pitch, tackle, quarterback, whittle, catch frogs & lizards like no-one you know, build fires & perch on a rooftop, so … I hope I’m doing a fair job at parenting, and the boys have a very nice father, so they have still him as a role model as well. If I had my druthers though, I’d say having a partner is WAY better than flying solo. It’s a heck of a lot of work – as you can imagine, when there’s no-one to share the load and you wear 50 hats instead of 15! But, when life gives you lemons, you make yourself some lemonade ( with Stevia, of course!) and plug along as best as you can:-)
OK, now for the funny stuff…who is your celebrity crush?
Sean Connery & Russell Crowe (hard to pick just 1)
If you wrote a parenting manual, the title would be…
“What My Kids Have Taught Me About Life”
First thing that pops into your head when I say “mom”?
Title I am most proud of….you know that Mother’s Day is my most favorite, personal day of celebration of the year! We Mom’s do so much – it’s just an incredible calling that I don’t think any of us were truly prepared to grasp and comprehend, but at the end of the day, and the end of life….it will hopefully be my most deeply satisfying job ever!
Behavioral trait you hope your children don’t inherit from you?
Trying to help every stray in the world…animals and people included:-)
Funniest thing your kids have ever said?
At Halloween, my youngest son Brayes, who had been called “My Little Angel” since birth, lashed out when I wouldn’t give him some candy before dinner one night. My then 4 year old looked me dead in the eye and said “I hope the Tooth Fairy comes and pulls ALL of your teeth out!” and stomped away! Wow! Such hateful words from such a sweet little mouth. At that moment, he grew a red tail and sprouted black horns on his head!! I don’t think I have recovered from that one yet and he’s almost 11!
Favorite kids movie?
The Aristocats
Household appliance you could not live without?
Love my VitaMixer!
Favorite CSP article?
Gosh, just love so much of the content, but I’d have to say my favorite categories of content you put out are “Smarty Scoop on Weekend Activities” and obviously, I’m a little partial to the “Health & Nutrition Articles” 🙂 CSP is an invaluable resource and you’ve done a super-fantastic job providing spot-on resources for our Mother’s around town! Kudos!
Guilty pleasure?
3 Hershey Kisses with a Glass of Red Wine at Night:-) So not Health Coachy, but hey, I’m only human!
