Parent Coaching
Do You Feel Stressed and Overwhelmed By Conflict With Your Child?
Is raising your children making you feel like you’re stuck in a maze? Do you feel defeated before the day even begins because of all the small battles you have to wage in order to get things going? Perhaps you’re raising a child who often refuses to eat, bathe, do homework or go to bed, and you feel powerless to control even the smallest of tasks. Or maybe you have a teenager who challenges your authority, talks back disrespectfully or seems hostile, and you just want to understand and make things better. Do you just want to instill some peace and order in your home?
Raising children can be a challenge for anyone. Communicating successfully, resolving conflict and fulfilling multiple roles simultaneously can start to feel impossible when your child is demonstrating even the mildest behavioral issues. Some days you may be tempted to “give up,” because letting some issues go is easier than starting yet another fight. You may even feel so worn down and exhausted that you wonder if you have anything left to give. Do you wish you knew how to navigate the maze of parenting, calm the chaos in your family and raise resilient, well-adjusted kids who are equipped to be successful, empowered adults?
Raising a Child Can Be as Stressful as It Is Rewarding
Anyone who has ever raised a child can tell you that parenting is not an easy task. Pop culture and the media would like you to believe that parents can naturally go non-stop, be on top of their careers and maintain flawless relationships with their spouses. But the truth is, good parenting requires unrelenting commitment and self-sacrifice that can feel unbearable at times. In fact, many people with children worry about burning out as they try to balance the demands of work, family pressure and personal relationships.
Most parents want to raise a child who is good, compassionate and equipped to persevere through hardships— not to mention mentally and physically healthy. But this takes tools, awareness and education that no parent is born with. While there is a great deal of research out there on how to be a good parent, there is simply too much to make sense of what will work specifically for you and your family. Fortunately, a warm and understanding parent coach can help you cut through the mountains of advice and support you in developing the parenting skills needed to help your child grow into a successful and capable adult.
Parent Coaching vs. Parent Counseling
Unlike counseling, coaching is not focused on pathologizing a situation or a person, healing emotional pain or remediating a particular dysfunction. You are coming to me for a solution for your problems rather than a diagnosis or assessment for long-term treatment. My role as a coach is to promote future learning, growth and development. For this reason, coaching places you in the driver’s seat, allowing you to decide what actions you want to change in your home and which practices you feel comfortable implementing. We work together to identify your priorities for your child’s development and build upon what you may already know or are doing in relation to your child’s development. Additionally, as a coach, I can support you in identifying and evaluating needed resources for your child and family. Essentially, parent coaching gives you practical tools and a real-world approach for making short-term, goal-oriented changes. If we determine that counseling would be a better approach or is needed in addition to coaching, then I will assist you by making a referral to that type of service.
Coaching for Parents Can Equip You With Skills to Help Your Child
I offer a productive, private space for you to air-out concerns, frustrations and personal challenges with someone who understands childhood development and child psychology. My desire is to teach you how to be both an empathetic mentor and a respected disciplinarian in your home. The root of the word “discipline” means, “to teach.” So, keeping that in mind, we’ll take a broader look at parenting, shifting your perspective so you can identify what you want your child to learn and how to become an effective teacher. During our work together, you can learn how to establish greater control and peace in your household, which can improve your overall family dynamic. My job is to help make parenting easier for you.
In a space of warmth and understanding, I can help you explore reasons for your child’s behavior or issue, brainstorm possible solutions to your everyday problems and generate ideas for learning how to cope with parenting stress. I can help you figure out how to change the way your child responds to you by changing the way you respond to him or her. To that end, we’ll work on building realistic expectations for behaviors while ensuring that your child understands what you’re trying to teach them. I’ll also show you the value of compassion and the importance of embracing grace so that you can forgive frustrating transgressions. During our time together, I will show you how to become like a scientist so that you can identify behavioral patterns and use that data to determine if your parenting approach is working and what needs to be modified.
Because every parent faces a different set of challenges, I always tailor our meetings according to the concerns and goals you have for your family. If you are having trouble with routines, I can help you develop an action plan to make processes more efficient and figure out ways to motivate your child to complete tasks without arguments. If you feel targeted by disrespect or hostility, we can determine what variables make the power struggle feel personal so that you can separate yourself from the situation and understand the development of your child so you don’t take things personally. As you cultivate a respectful family environment shaped by healthy boundaries, rewards and repercussions, your child can feel appreciated, empowered and supported by structure. Whatever your situation may be, I’ll bring to the table all of the resources and knowledge I have of child development and psychology to help you enhance your ability of raising a child.
I know that it can be difficult to ask for help, especially when it feels as if we should have all the answers naturally built in. However, we all need help sometimes, and when it comes to your child’s development (and your peace of mind), getting help sooner is better than later. By working with a parenting coach, you can create lasting peace and harmony between you and your child and instill greater happiness in your family.
I am considering coaching for parents, but I still have a few questions…
Will you be working directly with my child?
Not usually. In order to offer you applicable education and parenting advice, I need you to be completely candid about the issues you’re facing at home. Our natural tendency is to shield children from truths they may not be able or ready to understand, which, in our situation, can impede the coaching process.
So, I prefer to work directly with you (and, if possible, your co-parent) so that you are not distracted or censored by your child’s presence. However, in some cases, and only at your request, I may act as an anonymous observer in your child’s classroom or in another setting so that I may analyze some specific behaviors as they arise.
Additionally, if it is warranted, there may be occasions when I will request to see you and your child in my office or in a natural setting (e.g., home or in a public setting) to help work on a goal with you that requires your child to participate; however, this is not a regular occurrence since the goal of coaching is to empower you in our meetings to use your skills independently. Whatever the case, you will always be in control of the process and have primary input in what you think is best for your family based on the action-oriented goals you set.
Can parent coaching really change anything?
Absolutely. I focus on goals and results. This means we won’t dive deeply into family histories, past experiences or genetic predispositions. Instead, we’ll pinpoint the changes you want to see in your family and develop action plans for parenting that you can implement to enact those changes. Remember, parenting is a difficult job that requires a special awareness, education and skill set that can be elusive despite our best efforts and intentions. With commitment and a willingness to try something new, you truly can make lasting improvements to your relationship with your child.
Will insurance cover coaching?
Unlike counseling, coaching is a preventative strategy or supportive resource rather than a direct intervention for treating a diagnosis. Because coaching does not entail treating a diagnosis, insurance providers generally do not cover the expense. The benefit to this is that I am able to provide this service without any limitations and we can discuss the format for our meetings (e.g., number of meetings required, length of meetings desired) and location of meetings (e.g., online, in person, alternative setting).
Additionally, coaching often requires only a short-term investment. For some families, the positive parenting skills and strategies that you can learn in just one session may be enough to solve a problem you have not been able to overcome yourself. For just about the cost of a night out with the entire family, you can begin changing your child’s trajectory and gain skills that can serve you for a lifetime.
You Can Achieve Peace In Your Home
If you are struggling with any aspect of raising a child, I want to help by providing useful tips, advice or strategies. Please call 678-649-1940 or contact me for your free 15-minute consultation to see if parent coaching can help you.
