how i arrived at parent coaching
My professional journey has interwoven into my personal journey of being a parent. As a School Counselor, especially in elementary school, I was often asked many questions about carrying over work that I was doing with students in school to home. It was challenging because I needed to keep the boundary that I was focused on school specific concerns in order to maintain integrity in my programming, yet I knew that there is so much to be done at home too. It has been long term dream of mine to branch out and start my own business supporting parents. As a parent myself I have struggled to really find my way even when I have so many tools to use. What I found was there were many programs online that offer great recommendations and ideas but that the reality of the day to day life of a parent felt overwhelming and often the language offered in those programs did not work for my children.
My hope in supporting parents now is to help adapt all the information out there into a way to approach your parenting that feels natural. When I speak about authentic parenting it is not because certain parenting styles are not authentic, it’s because often we are learning to be a parent right alongside raising our children and the vast majority of us have different conditioning than what is being put out there for parenting styles, creating a mismatch in what feels good for us and what we think we need to be doing. Not only that, I am also a parent to two young kids, one who is neurodivergent, which adds a lot of weight to an already challenging role. In the summer of 2022, a few months after that neurodivergency was confirmed, I suffered two acute ischemic strokes. I will share more of that specific situation as it relates to my parenting in a different blog. Those strokes took me out of my home for a month, out of work for 6 months and forced me into a learning curve I wanted nothing to do with, but I still had to be a mom through (like re-learning to walk and use my whole left side). If you are in that place as well, I get it. This is where I can help, adjusting and reflecting are first steps in becoming the parent you strive to be. While social media can be a wealth of information, it is not a substitute for the real time support a parent coach can give.
Parent coaching is here as an option for parents to take the time to examine what’s working, what’s not working and create sustainable parenting methods for their own unique child or children. Options for support can be in a quicker one hour session where we talk about one specific topic. Or working weekly for about 3 months towards a specific overall goal for your parenting. While it is ideal for all parents of a child to be working on this together, it is not required. Families all look different and becoming the parent you want to be, who your child needs, only requires your openness to taking a look at what needs to be addressed and what could be adjusted.
As a School Counselor I had to shape shift and adapt to all the students and families I worked with. While I have found my own parenting style, even that changes as my children age. I am not a perfect parent, I have struggles too, bringing this level of normalizing to my work is important because the work includes accepting that you are human and we don’t have to be perfect at this to show we love our kids. I have experience in working with parents coming from very different places and challenges. I will take that experience into my work with you because this work is about you and your needs, not my own ideologies. Please reach out for a quick exploratory call to see if I would be a good fit for yours and your family’s needs!
