Mom Club with Shannon Stinson

Shannon Stinson with her daughters, Autumn (5) and Evelyn (8).

Shannon Stinson is a South Fork girl turned North Fork mom. She’s deeply connected to our local communities and landscapes, and thinks there’s nothing better than a family day at the bay or sound — we SO agree! 

Read on as Shannon shares mothering on the North Fork in our monthly Mom Club, a Q&A with local North Fork moms.

Mom Club is made possible by The Stretch Garden — your place on the North Fork for recovery and rejuvenation, reimagined.

Q: Describe your parenting style in three words:

Shannon: Adventurous, flexible, forgiving.

Q: What is your favorite thing about motherhood?

Shannon: My favorite thing is seeing my girls grow into their personalities… I’ve never really missed or longed for a previous stage of their toddlerhood or baby years, because they keep changing into these super cool and unique people. I feel so privileged to get a front row seat to them growing up.

Q: What’s your least favorite thing about motherhood?

Shannon: Social media. For all the wonderful ways it has connected mothers, it has also disconnected us from our natural instincts and intuition when it comes to parenting.

Q: Would you change anything about motherhood? Tell us.

Shannon: I don’t know if this is a change to motherhood specifically, or more just society, but our neighborhood structures need an overhaul! Too many cars, going too fast, and not enough kids outside together playing in the street or riding their bikes with their neighbors. Not enough walkable neighborhoods with places for kids to gather without adults — shout out to Riverhead Rec. for trying to fill that gap in third spaces for local kids! It puts so much pressure on mothers, especially, to not only constantly prioritize our kids’ physical, emotional, and financial needs, but now we also have to be the director of activities and entertainment. It’s downright exhausting!

Q: In your opinion, what makes raising children on the North Fork unique?

Shannon: Our year-round access to wild and unspoiled woods and waterways tops the list. But as someone lucky enough to be raised on the South Fork and now lucky enough to raise my kids on the North Fork, I think the way our East End communities rally for each other in times of hardship and in times of celebration is beautifully unique. There is a kinship between year-round East End residents that is like no other. So many of us out here are united in trying to preserve something incredibly special. It makes for really passionate and creative communities. I love that my kids get to experience that.

Q: What role does nature play in raising your children?

Shannon: There’s not much in our house that can’t be cured by a walk in the woods or a trip to the sea. That may change as they get older, but I’m holding on to that tight for now.

Q: What's your favorite recent thing that you've done with your children on the North Fork?

Shannon: The Great Backyard Bird Count with Turtleback Farms and the North Fork Audubon Society at Inlet Pond County Park, followed by a bilingual puppet show with Carmen Campos of PuppetEd. It’s people like Carmen and Jennifer Murray that make the North Fork such a fun, educational, and cool place to be a kid!

Q: What's your children's favorite thing you've recently done together on the North Fork?

Shannon: There’s a little sledding hill tucked away at Stotzky Park that is the perfect size for my kids. We love meeting friends there or even trying to squeeze in a few rides before one of the many delayed school openings we’ve had this winter.

Q: What is one thing every child should experience on the North Fork?

Shannon: I grew up on the ocean, but man, there is nothing quite like a full day at the bay or sound! Any day you go in the summer, you are bound to run into friends, and the kids have a lot more freedom to roam and explore than they would at the ocean. Plus, so many of our beaches are playground-adjacent, and the ice cream man is always rolling through! It's a beach day where, as a parent, you can actually relax. What could be better?

Q: Mothering lasts long after we're gone. It becomes the values that live within our children for their whole lives, too. What are some things that you hope your children carry with them forever?

Shannon: I consider myself someone who has lived a lot of lives… and if I could instill anything in my girls, it would be that they can always change course. That it’s never too late, you are never too old, or have gone too far in one direction to make a change. I also hope they grow up to see their communities (wherever they may be) as places deserving of love, care, service, and protection. Just like ours.