Hidden Gems: Meet Natasha Nelson of Supernova Momma

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natasha Nelson.

Hi Natasha, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’m Natasha, but you can call me Tash. I am a Certified Positive Discipline Educator (CPDE), veteran, military spouse, small business owner, and stay-at-home mother to two autistic Black girls. I served over seven years of exemplary leadership in the United States Army as an active duty Staff Sergeant, including two tours to Afghanistan. After serving Natasha went back to school with the University of Maryland Global Campus with a B.S in Political Science. However, she paused her studies while having two high-risk pregnancies and battling postpartum depression disorder in under two years, and blogged her experiences to help other mothers who may be going through similar circumstances feeling alone.

When her oldest daughter was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at two years old and her youngest daughter showed early signs, Natasha decided to change her major to early childhood development so she could fully understand her children and help other parents. Natasha’s blog and social media, Supernova Momma, features women empowerment, traditional child-rearing, motherhood balance, positive discipline, and autism acceptance. The blog has been featured on Atlanta’s 11Alive, Oprah Magazine, Black Parent Magazine, and Parents.com social media.

In 2020 during the pandemic, I earned my certification to teach Positive Discipline in-home, in early childhood education centers, and in classrooms. I also started my small education resource business, Supernova Momma LLC.

I offer Positive Discipline workshops and classes, One-on-One Parent Consultations, and public speaking. I am also the creator of “The Cool Calming Corner”, a Time-In printable poster set that features Black and/or multicultural children of different shades and hairstyles and teaches them emotional intelligence and coping strategies through a love of hip hop.

My workshop and classes focus on Black and Neurodiverse families, specifically changing their mindset, managing stress and pent-up frustration, extending grace, and working through your trauma and triggers to transform their homes. Lastly, I share tips and videos of my family using positive discipline and conscious parenting on my social media. In the beginning of my motherhood journey, I struggled not to lose myself. When I looked for similar parents, or parents to be, around me, I couldn’t find a community. So I decided to create one and share our experiences, our parenting, and our lives. That way, in the future, another new parent like me can have that one resource for realistic, relatable motherhood.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have autism, and both my toddler daughters have autism. My husband has ADHD. I have to be home and have a flexible schedule for my children so we are on a very strict budget with limited residual income. My business was started during the pandemic. My husband works in IT and in the military reserves to ensure we have medical insurance to care for all our support needs and health issues. My husband and I are both the oldest and family breadwinner for our individual families. Money, Time, Mental Health.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Supernova Momma LLC. is a Supernova Parenting education resource. Supernova Parenting pulls from Positive Discipline, Conscious Parenting, Circle of Security, Conscious Discipline, and Adlerian Theory to make Positive Discipline assessible and relatable to Black and/or Neurodiverse families. The mission of Supernova Momma is to help Black and Neurodiverse people break generational curses from systemic racism and ableism in households, schools, and offices to receive support in a mutually caring, empathetic, and respectful environment.

Supernova Momma uses a four-prong approach to accomplish this mission called the NEED System:

Network: Building relationships with organizations and advocates of Black and Neurodiverse parents online and in my local community.

Empathize: Learning and listening to the parenting concerns and practices of families of all cultures and backgrounds. Respecting and researching different cultural practices, historical data and events, and socialization.

Educate: Providing Positive Discipline classes and workshops, One-on-One coaching, & public speaking to families, educators, and companies.

Demonstrate: Showcasing Positive Discipline methods and tools for Black and Neurodiverse families in action through videos and words. Sharing daily resources, encouragement and inspiration.

I am also known for my “The Cool Calming Corner” poster sets. The Cool Calming Corner is a Time-In printable poster set that features Black and/or multicultural children of different shades and hairstyles and teaches them emotional intelligence and coping strategies through a love of hip hop. Representation does indeed matter, and Black children deserve to see children who look like them when practicing these positive concepts in home and in the classroom.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was autistic and didn’t know it. I was placed in the Gifted and Talented program in 1st grade after being evaluated and assessed in Kindergarten. I was a bookworm, so much so I would read while walking and fall into ditches or almost get run over by cars. I was the oldest of seven children and had to learn to care for my siblings and help my single mother. I had to grow up pretty early and had adult stress and anxiety. I’ve been cooking since I was six and called Momma Tasha since I was ten. I was heavy in the church: choir, step team, youth board, bible study, vocational summer program, etc. I went to Spelman College before joining the military.

Pricing:

• My workshops are $50 each
• My 3-week One-on-One Consultations are $300.
• My 8-week course has equitable tiered pricing depending on your budget and scholarships are available

Contact Info:

• Website: http://supernovamomma.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supernova_momma/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SupernovaMomma
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SupernovaMomma

Image Credits
Leah Madison of L. Madison Media LLC. is my photographer for all images I do not take myself.