My family, August 2016. The reason this exists.
About Birch & Light · About Tara
Five kids taught me what no parenting book could.
I'm Tara — mom of five, creator of Birch & Light. I make stories, songs, and simple tools for the complicated, emotional, hard-to-explain parts of parenting.
Built inside the actual mess of raising real kids — not from a quiet office somewhere.
The origin story
I'm Tara Alison (Tara Alison Oporto), a mom of five and the creator of the Birch & Light Method and inventor of LightMap. Within Birch & Light, I serve as the author, songwriter, art director and producer.
Raising five very different kids — some with sensitive nervous systems and big feelings — shaped this work in the most practical way possible. Birch & Light wasn't something I set out to create. It grew out of everyday motherhood. For years I made up bedtime stories and simple songs for my daughter Faith, using plain storytelling and gentle melodies to help her feel safe, understood and connected at the end of the day. The kids asked for stories, mostly Faith, and I made them up as I went. Sometimes I just started singing.
Those nightly moments became the heart of Birch & Light.
The songs came from everyday family life too — singing about s'mores in our home music room, turning “No Running in Socks” into a fun safety song, finding humor and steadiness in busy, overstimulating moments. They're written for parents as much as for children, often from the characters' perspectives.
The Birch & Light Method and LightMap grew out of the same need: helping parents see the patterns underneath a child's behavior, so what they do next comes from understanding rather than guesswork.
Outside of home, I've served my community through public education and access to learning, including a three-year term on my local Board of Education and service on my local Library Board.
I create stories and songs to help children feel safe, seen and connected, and to give parents simple ways to reconnect in the moments that feel the most intense, busy or confusing.
What Birch & Light stands for
Renewal, clarity, and feelings that are welcome as they are.
Birch trees are the first to grow back after a storm, and light helps all of us find our way back to center. The name reflects the purpose of the work: to help children make sense of big emotions, and to help families create moments of connection, calm and confidence.
Everything begins with the feeling. Stories turn hard moments into something a child can safely recognize. Music meets kids — and the adults figuring it out — where they are. Watercolor art gives all of it a place to settle.
Birch & Light creates space for every feeling to be welcomed, understood, and held with compassion.
The mission
To help families reset and reconnect by transforming emotional overwhelm into understanding, healing and closeness.
Who it's for
- Families —
- parents seeking honest, useful books that name what their children are actually experiencing.
- Educators —
- teachers and school counselors building emotionally safe classroom communities.
- Therapists —
- mental health professionals supporting children through therapeutic storytelling.
In 2026, the Birch & Light Method was named a Mom's Choice Awards® Gold Recipient, honoring the best in family-friendly media, products and services.
Experience behind the work
Certified coach
Certified Coaches Federation (CCF) Certified Coach, with training in general coaching principles and communication.
Public education
Three-year local Board of Education term, including curriculum and instructional programs and liaison work with parents, early-childhood education and special-education supports.
Literacy and community service
Former local Library Board member and New York Cares volunteer, reading with children in foster care and supporting early literacy.
Mother of five
Firsthand family experience across neurodivergence, PANS/PANDAS, type 1 diabetes, behavioral challenges, complex family dynamics and multiple levels of care.
Parent education
Extensive parent education alongside clinical, therapeutic, recovery and residential treatment programs.
Creative and product work
Author, songwriter, producer and art director; creator of the Birch & Light Method and inventor of LightMap.
Additional study and influences
Approaches, programs and teachers whose thinking shows up in how Birch & Light is built. These are influences, not credentials.
- Collaborative Problem Solving / Ross Greene
- The Nurtured Heart Approach
- Attachment and emotional-healing work
- Landmark Worldwide: the Forum, Advanced Course, and Self-Expression and Leadership Program
- Tony Robbins Unleash the Power Within
- Neuro-Linguistic Programming study
- Caron Treatment Centers recovery and family work
- Susan Anderson attachment and emotional-healing work
These experiences inform the work but do not make Birch & Light a medical or clinical treatment provider. References to people, programs and care settings do not imply affiliation or endorsement.
Understand what's underneath, then know what to do next.
That's the whole point of Birch & Light — for your family the way I needed it for mine.