Mother-daughter duo share a passion for nurturing young minds

A mom and daughter duo share a passion - and a career path.

Madelyn Parent works at ChildVentures Early Learning Academy, which has been operating in Burlington on Itabashi Way since 2004; mom Martina Ross is director of enrollment. Both women are unwavering in their belief that early learning is critical to children under six, since it's a critical period in their biological, cognitive, social and emotional development. 

Balancing home life and a career can be challenging for working moms – especially in the early childhood field, but Ross, 56, struck a balance.

After decades in her profession, she has been guiding and inspiring young people to pursue their passions and aspirations. She believes that a career in early childhood education is fulfilling and offers those who enter the profession a chance to make a positive impact on society.

A Stoney Creek resident, Parent joined the team at ChildVentures to help children receive a quality education, while working alongside her mom.

Starting as an educator at ChildVenture’s first location in Ancaster, Ross now works at the support centre, while Parent is centre director at the Meadowvale location.

When she graduated from high school, Parent said she didn’t have a desire for anything specific. She took a year off, and became a camp counsellor, working with children, and realized how much she enjoyed it.

She graduated from Mohawk College’s early childhood education program and registered to be a full Registered ECE through the college.

For Ross, her career path was clear to her as a child. “I wanted to be a mom; I was always drawn to children,” she said, adding she didn’t have good enough marks for university so her school counsellor recommended the ECE program, and she graduated from George Brown College.

“It was magic,” she said of her decision. “I had found it. I did go on to get my degree in child studies, just to keep the door open, but after doing the degree, it’s the years of 0 to infants and toddlers, this is it, this is the one.”

“We love it right to the core – it’s our passion,” Parent said. 

Ross said one of the best things about the job is being in the classrooms with the children. She recalled a specific question from one child after she had shown him where her plane flew en route to see her daughter in Singapore. Holding a globe, she traced her finger over the top of the globe.

“He said ‘Did you see Santa?’ And I told him we were really high up in the sky, so we couldn’t see him.” She said he went on to tell all his friends and family that she had flown over the North Pole.

The mother-daughter duo say it has been a journey since their start and they agreed from the beginning that they wouldn’t let their relationship enter into the workplace, so much so that for years nobody even knew they were related.

“We were very particular about our relationship – keeping it professional,” said Ross. “Most didn’t even know and I think she was harder on me than most of the educators.

“It was easier to keep things professional. Made it easier for me; there was always a leadership person between us. That line was drawn early on.”

She said she values her mentorship and knows it’s a privilege that they both appreciate - very much.

ChildVentures is an academic-based curriculum that offers offers programs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and junior kindergarten with about 175 students at each campus. Both Parent and Ross enjoy teaching in the toddler room, but they agree they try to keep work talk at work. Home time is spent on other conversations, and Ross said they regularly visit local conservation areas on Sundays for a picnic with the whole the family.

Ross said she is also the curriculum trainer, getting new educators ready for the classrooms. She finds it exciting to teach others and share the passion she and her mom share.

“When you talk about children learning, that's what excites us the most, because of the age of the children, watching them do something because of the way that you presented it to them. That’s really important,” she said.

Ross added that she’s spent the bulk of her career watching children learn. “It makes spending time with them so exciting. When you see the little wheels turning and then when something clicks.”

“Or when you do something and they do something completely different than what you anticipated,” Parent added. “It’s that innocence, and they’re naturally explorers, so curious. When you provide things to them, and they use that inquisitive nature and what kind of concepts they come up with, it’s exciting.”

Since 2002, ChildVentures has contributed to the experiences of more than 10,000 children, and they employ some 300 staff members in locations at Ancaster, Aurora, Burlington, Milton, Mississauga (Meadowvale), Oakville, Richmond Hill and Vaughan.