Parents and caregivers are so wrapped up in the lives of those under their care that they often forget about monitoring their own emotional wellbeing. I would venture to say that most of them have never even considered the value of parent coaching.
Since I became a life coach and then a parenting coach many years ago, I’ve run into many parents who have never heard of a parenting coach and are intrigued by what I do. I often liken parent coaching to many other types of coaching.
If you want to lose weight, you may hire a nutritional coach. If you want to grow your company, you can hire a business coach. If you want to grow your finances, you enlist the help of a financial advisor. If you are an athlete striving to improve, you may seek the help of a fitness coach or a sport-specific coach.
In each of these scenarios, the person seeking the help of a coach is not necessarily failing at their endeavors; they simply desire to improve, even to excel in something that is important to them.
If losing weight, gaining financial security, growing a business and becoming a better athlete are important ambitions, how much more important is the goal of raising kids to become strong, compassionate, honest, hard-working adults? They are, after all, the next generation of leaders.
Parents who seek the help of a parenting coach need not do so simply because they think they are not doing a good job; rather, they are looking for ways to get better at their job.
No matter what challenges you face in your family, your needs as a parent are pretty consistent with other parents: you need solutions to problems, you need tools, you need guidance for next steps, you need to understand your own triggers and reactions, and you need goals for the future.
Perhaps as you read this you are asking yourself if you would benefit from a parenting coach. The short answer is YES, every parent would benefit from learning about tools that would help them do their job. But if you’re still not convinced, then ask yourself a few questions.
Do you often let your child’s emotional responses dictate your response?
A parenting coach can help you figure out how to break that habit.
Do you struggle to connect and communicate with your teen?
A parenting coach can work with you to find the tools that best fit your child’s personality.
Do feel drained and worn out, with not much in your emotional tank to give to your child?
A parenting coach can help you find solutions that will empower you.
Do you feel like you are winging it as a parent each day?
A parenting coach can help you come up with parenting goals that will guide you through your daily parenting.
Do you feel unprepared and ill-equipped for parenting because you did not have good parenting models yourself?
A parenting coach knows how to give you the tools you need to parent well and help you understand how those tools fit in your particular home environment.
In my experience as a parenting coach, I’ve found that coaching is a life-changing tool when it comes to helping parents establish strong and happy homes. I personally have experienced the value of parent coaching, business coaching, and relational coaching.
If you are open to parent coaching, it’s important to find a coach that you feel comfortable talking to. I would seek out a coach who offers a free first-time consultation so that you can get an idea if they are a good fit for your family. An open and honest relationship is an essential first step in finding someone who can help you reach your parenting goals.
Let me close with this one thought: parenting is much less stressful if you choose to be proactive, rather than reactive. Even if you think you do not need a parent coach now, I can guarantee you that challenges will come your way at some point in the future. Get the tools in place NOW that will help you be ready to face the difficulties before they happen. Schedule a free intro consultation here if you’d like to know more about how a parent coach could help you.
