Our guest this week is Craig Parks of San Diego, CA who is a professional musician, band leader, camp director, author and father of two including one with special healthcare needs.

Craig and his wife, Rachel, have been married for 23 years and are the proud parents of two children: Nashaman (10) and Jonah (20) who has multiple issues, including: anxiety, attention issues and Autism.

Craig has a real passion for working with youth.  He has combined his love of music and talent as a musician with his commitment to serving youth in a variety of ways including serving as a camp director and band leader.

More recently Craig authored an e-Book entitled: "Stress Less & Have Fun With Your Kids". He also created a curriculum the "Parenting A to E Course" available at: https://www.parentingharmony.com/ 

We’ll hear Craig’s story and about his musical and special needs journey on this week’s Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast.

Show Links - 
Phone – (760) 505-3099
Email –  [email protected]
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-parks-6038756/
Website - https://www.parentingharmony.com/
North County JCC Camp – https://jcca.org/find-a-jcc/lawrence-family-jcc-of-san-diego-county-jacobs-family-campus/
eBook – Stress Less & Have More Fun With Your Kids – https://craigparksmusic.samcart.com/products/stress-less--have-more-fun-with-your-kids    

Parks Party Central Episode 1 March 29,2020 (youtube.com)
Parks Party Central Episode 19 (youtube.com)  
Parks & Pals: Tequila (youtube.com)
Urban Plates - 12 under $12 - core - eat well (youtube.com)  

Here's a bonus video of his son at 6 years old playing the drums with Criag and a couple of the teens he was working with: Long Live Rock.mpg (youtube.com)  

Here is a video from Autism's Got Talent with Jonah in 2020.  He ended up winning the competition that year.   J the King - Autism's Got Talent - YouTube

Parenting A to E - From Stress To Smiles Turning The mundane Into The Memorable - Enroll now at:   https://parentingharmony.com/products/parenting-a-to-e?fbclid=IwY2xjawHO4_FleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHVTpd8dvVA6oGnGhjp4mA6lsq2ii8VvRokknzaxNn1wFwJ0zJZRagsM_Mw_aem__SD5vUvTcsNCFek5EJgsVg

Miracle League of San Diego https://www.miracleleagueofsandiego.org

San Diego Chill Ice Hockey for kids with special needs   https://sandiegochill.org

The San Marcos Shooting Stars Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/p/SMYBB-Shooting-Stars-100057535536242/

Special Fathers Network - 
SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 800+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated.  There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."

SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.

Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDFCvQimWNEb158ll6Q4cA/videos

Please support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/donate/

Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/