I’m a Parent, Author, Speaker, and Teacher who is interested in helping this generation of parents, and the next.
“To encourage and enrich those responsible for emotional growth and compassionate care for our greatest resource, our children.” Susan Torres
About Me
Susan Torres is a parent, author, speaker, and teacher. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Susan chronicles her story in Living on Three Spoons, which depicts her turbulent childhood and challenging single parenting years. Determined to correct her life choices–teen pregnancies and destructive marriages—she balances single parenting, educational pursuits, and career opportunities along the way. A graduate of Brooklyn College, Susan has been a public school teacher for nearly two decades in the inner cities of New York, New Jersey, and Chicago. Most recently, she embarked on an adventure with the blessing of her children, and taught in the United Arab Emirates for several years, and also mentored college students in New Delhi, India, providing guidance and support to help them achieve their dreams. Susan continues to serve youth as a public school teacher in Chicago, Illinois.
Coming in 2023
How do you shape children for the real world and foster confidence, creativity, and self-sufficiency, while helping them to evolve into people who will contribute positively to society? There is no perfect answer, or parent or child. Parenting, More or Less, Navigating the Journey of Parenthood is the voice of a single parent who raised four children from cradle to college. The peaks and valleys, stages and players and the raw flashbacks of parenting experiences of nearly four decades are highlighted in memoir style. Susan offers some strategies and techniques on parenting to those who are privileged with the role of being a loving guide in the life of a child. Not all parenting years are a straight and narrow road, but include winding and twisted ones that challenge parents to grow along with their kids. She shares the good, the bad, and the ugly, and reveals the reality of parenting. Each childrearing stage is discussed, and not the textbook version, but what she thinks happens in real life.
Living on Three Spoons takes the reader on a journey through Susan's battles from a drug-infested, abusive childhood to her struggles to maintain emotional balance as a teenage single parent. Born in New York, Susan, a fiery Hispanic Brooklynite, chronicles the lessons she learned and applied to fight back against oppressive forces.
As a young teen mom, Susan leaves behind the father of her daughters and thrives as a hardworking single parent with the hope of changing the course of her life. Years later, she attempts marriage again and has two more children. Ultimately, single parenthood became a designed choice. With meager emotional and financial means, she faces defeat by using ingenuity and raw courage to forge a life for herself and her four children.
This riveting story carries the reader from Brooklyn, to Puerto Rico, to the cultural immersion of living in the Middle East, culminating in a return to New York City.
Parenting
Workshops
Parenting and Self-Defeating Family Cycles
Parents are significant impactful leaders and change agents. If parents are to change generational self-defeating family cycles, they need to start by talking about their family history. What are some ways to open that door with your child?
Parenting and Your Child’s Education
To help children become life-long learners, parents can model learning in creative ways. As a parent, how can you instill within your child ownership and accountability over their educational experience, relying less on your encouragement?
Parenting and Relationships
Outside of the
Family Bubble
Relationships are lifelines that can lead to self-exploration about who you are and who you become. When a parent insists on keeping tight reigns on the inner family circle, it can limit growing opportunities for your child. How can a parent practice modeling open-mindedness toward others who are dissimilar.
Parenting and External Influencers
In today’s world, there are more external influencers than ever before. It’s nearly impossible to monitor what youngsters are exposed to. Parents can learn ways to teach their child to engage in positive and trustworthy situations that will benefit them in the long term.
How NOT to Parent Your Child
We all know the expression get out of your own way. When it comes to parenting, you need to get out of your child's way, too. Children need a landscape to explore, expand, and explode if need be, and on their own terms. At some juncture, parents need to let kids grow without guiding, nudging, coaxing, or lecturing them. As children grow and mature, feelings of empowerment in succeeding at something they created on their own is a birthright. What can parents do to teach creative autonomy?
Parenting and the College Years
Your young adult’s exploration of their new role takes off, and you are now a long-distant parent. How does your parent/child relationship shift, and what can you do as a parent to support them while managing your evolving role.