mom next door Meet Christian Ofner
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I think people sometimes need the validation that you’re doing enough, you’re not failing. They are alive, they are thriving. Yes, we’re all tired. Yes, we might be wearing clothes from yesterday, but we’re doing the best we can.
BY AMELIA ROESSLER
C hristian Ofner finds Colorado the to stay active: taking their dog for a walk, skiing, playing pickleball, or enjoying the mountains by fishing, hiking, and exploring. Ofner grew up in Littleton and went to college at Creighton University. Coming back to Colorado, she worked for Channel 2 and Fox 31 television stations before she switched to become a financial advisor 14 years ago. Now she lives in Denver with her husband and her nine-year-old son, Sam. perfect state to raise a child. A native herself, Ofner and her family love When it comes to parenting, Ofner knows that her challenges aren’t unique to anyone else’s parenting challenges. She jokes the biggest challenge is that no kid comes with
they would just have to work with Sam.
were like, ‘What’s wrong with him? Why can’t he sit still?’ But he’s super creative, or he’ll sit down for hours doing one task that he’s real- ly into. I think that was probably the biggest challenge thus far,” explains Ofner. As a parent, Ofner realizes that you never want to think anything is different about your child, so parents tend to hold off on asking questions, saying “Oh, because he’s a boy,” or “Oh, it’s because he’s bored.” But Ofner said she instinctively knew when they should start exploring options to help Sam. “I think parents have to trust their gut and say, maybe there is something to explore here, and exploring doesn’t mean you’re diagnosing everything,” she assures. “Exploring is just figuring out how your child likes to be communicated with or how your child likes to learn.” Once Ofner got over the barrier of knowing nothing is wrong with Sam, she felt that with some parenting style adjustments and school accommodations, everything fell into place. With a family history of ADHD, she said she knew ADHD showed differently for everyone and that
“Really, it’s just making him aware that it’s not a negative thing. There are so many more positives with it than negative. They’re super creative. They have a lot of energy, they have a lot of exuberance and enthusiasm. Those things you can definitely work with,” says Ofner. But Ofner also knows that having a family is a joy, and that has become her priority in life. She says Sam has such a sense of humor that he brightens her day when she picks him up from school. “It’s like, how can you be down in a dump when you’re around someone like that? So I feel like they kind of give you perspective on what’s really important, and that sounds a little bit cliché just coming out of my mouth, but I think that that has been the joy,” she explains. The best parenting advice Ofner has received is to realize that you don’t need to raise the smartest kid or a kid that’s the best athlete. It’s important to raise them to grow up as a good person, and that’s something Ofner
a manual. “You know, how do you troubleshoot this thing?” she asks.
While Ofner feels very fortunate that her son Sam was a wonderful baby and toddler with no terrible twos or terrible threes, about a year and a half ago, he was diag- nosed with ADHD.
“In those years from like five to seven, people
12 COLORADO PARENT MAY 2026
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