Dyan Eybergen, RN, is a child and adolescent psychiatric nurse with more than 10 years experience as a therapist and parent educator. Her therapeutic experience includes crisis counseling, inpatient assessment, and juvenile offender rehabilitation, among others.  She is an award-winning author recognized for her common-sense, child-focused strategies to develop moral character and strengthen family relationships. Dyan has presented workshops and lectures to thousands of parents over the past decade and appears as a parent expert on CTV SouthWestern Ontario’s Health and Lifestyle and CTV Edmonton’s News at Noon.

Dyan is also a member of the Alberta Writer’s Guild, as well as the Speaker’s Bureau of Alberta and a selected judge for the 2010 prestigious Mom’s Choice Awards. Dyan lives in St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, with her husband and three sons.

MCA: Can you please tell us about the inspiration for your book: Out of the Mouths of Babes: Parenting from a Child’s Perspective?
Dyan: I worked as a child and adolescent psychiatric nurse for more than 8 years – there wasn’t a behavioural situation that I wasn’t trained to handle. When I began having my own children I thought I was more than adequately prepared for motherhood. I learned very quickly that all my education and clinical experience taught me nothing about being a mother. Children are unique and cannot be parented from a text book.

MCA: What are your goals for the next year? 
Dyan: I do a lot of public speaking educating parents on intuitive parenting. When you have written a book on the subject you speak on, it earns you credibility as an opinion leader in that field. I hope my speaking and my book will lead to more speaking engagements and the writing/publishing of more inspirational parenting books. In the next year I hope to be invited to speak for an organization outside of Canada and become international. 

MCA: If someone gave you air time for a 15-second commercial, how would you entice people to read your book ?
Dyan: If you have ever felt undermined by contemporary parenting approaches or tried a parenting strategy and it didn’t work for you like the book promised, Out of the Mouths of Babes encourages you to tap in to your own intuition and creativity and find the answers to parenting challenges you are looking for. The answers are deep within you (and your child) and this book helps you find them.

MCA: You started with an idea and now have a successful, award-winning book. Looking back on your journey, what was the easiest part? The hardest? What surprised you the most?
Dyan: The easiest part was the writing. The hardest was the very time consuming business of marketing and promotion … and handling criticism. When you put yourself out there as an authority on any subject you are bound to get criticism! It’s not always easy to deal with, especially when it comes across as a personal attack.

MCA: Since launching your book, what has been your most rewarding experience in promoting or sharing it with the public? Do you have a favorite memory? 
Dyan: My favourite memory is attending Book Expo America in New York as part of the Mom’s Choice Awards exhibit. The atmosphere of book lovers was overwhelming; the MCA booth was unbelievable in size and attractiveness; and my book signing was surreal in terms of the number of people wanting my book and then running out of stock.

MCA: Could you please tell us why you chose the Mom’s Choice Awards® program in seeking recognition for Out of the Mouths of Babes?
Dyan: I wrote a parenting book. There is no better stamp of approval than when it comes from a group of peers who are in the business of what your product is based on (mom’s who are parenting).

MCA: What does it mean to you to be a Mom’s Choice Awards® alumnus?
 Dyan: I  chose to publish independently which for the most part still carries a stigma in the world of mainstream publishing. After receiving a Mom’s Choice Award® I found I was taken more seriously in the writing and book community. My credibility as an author has increased.

MCA: What did you learn about yourself in the process of creating your award-winning parenting book?
Dyan: I learned how cathartic the process of writing is. Each chapter brought me to a better understanding and clarity for each of my three children and the challenges my husband and I face in raising them.

MCA:  Would you recommend the Mom’s Choice Awards® to other entrepreneurs? If so, why? 
Dyan: Out of the Mouths of Babes is now an internationally recognized award winner. This is a very prestigious award. Recipients are in the company of other honorees such as Greg Mortensen! The people behind the MCA treat you like family. The access to marketing programs and discounts on trade fairs and advertising opportunities are phenomenal. I don’t think I would have had the same opportunities to get my book into the hands of readers if I had not become part of the Mom’s Choice Awards®. I highly recommend the MCA!

MCA: How have you/your company benefited by being a Mom’s Choice Awards® honoree? Do you have any tangible examples?
Dyan: As a self-published title it is not always easy getting a book store to stock your book on their shelves. Once you mention a Mom’s Choice Award®, merchants are more than happy to purchase and order. Seeing my book for the first time on the shelf of Chapter’s/Indigo (Canada) was the highlight of my writing career! 


MCA: Dyan, thank you so much for joining us and your kind words. We wish you continued success.

Mom’s Choice Awards® Honors

Out of the Mouths of Babes: Parenting from a Child’s Perspective

Dyan Eybergen

iUniverse, 2008

2009 Silver Recipient, Books for Adults – Parenting Ca

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