When we have children we receive a lot of things – joy, happiness, lack of sleep, and responsibility. What is missing is a manual! It is true that friends and family (especially our parents) will have endless streams of well intentioned advice for us. However, what do you do when the situation you are facing has left you stymied and at a loss. You can be doing everything correctly and still need a helping hand.
Parent coaching refers to using an outside party as a coach. This is a critical difference than what we get from those close to us – the coach is a professional connection. Because they are a neutral party that does not have to worry about keeping a personal friendship, they can point out things that a friend might ignore. Because they likely will not spend a lot of time with you or your child outside of a meeting they will not have a personal bias generated by connecting socially.
Admitting that a parent coach is needed can be hard. While we likely are the experts on our child, when there are problems then our own involvement can limit our effectiveness. We can often be frustrated that one or more of our children are responding as expected to parenting strategies while another is not. Even therapists who may have decades of experience in helping families as a parent coach can need coaching.
Parent coaching can create unique strategies to help parent a child who has ADHD and is not responding to the “usual” parenting style that has been used. They can help create areas in your home for homework, quiet time, or even loud time – an opportunity for a child to let out their energy. When a child has oppositional defiance disorder (ODD) they can help create strategies to reduce conflict while still retaining control of the house.
If you are struggling with parenting and are looking for help I would be happy to meet with you.
