I had a delightful experience this morning. After years of working in parenting education, mostly teaching classes and doing some coaching, I just had my first experience as a client! My work with Dr. Gordon Neufeld was different; I had the pleasure of taking many of his courses, and asking him for advice, so he was much more than a parenting coach to me. He did give me specific advice sometimes, but much of the time I figured out how to apply his theory and examples to my own situation.
So how did I become a coaching client? First, I subscribed to the email list for Jason Johnson, the In Home Parenting Coach, after reading his Ezine articles. In a recent email, he offered a free coaching session. I was struggling with some issues with the kids, so I decided to give his coaching a try. To my delight, I found the experience to be very helpful, positive and enjoyable.
Here’s what he did for me. First, by committing to the hour with him, I had time and energy to put towards thinking about the issues. That in and of itself was very helpful. Second, he framed the problems in helpful ways. For example, he talked about routines, and asked questions about our morning and evening routines. That helped me to realize that one of the changes I can make to most positively affect our day is to work on our bedtime routine. That has become an area of tension as we have let go of reading a story to either of them, and thus lost the crucial start to the bedtime routine.
Finally, he believes as I do that the parent has to start with themselves and their issues. I have since bought his book, and that is one of the key messages he writes about. He also has utmost confidence in our ability to rise to the occasion and parent well once we realize that we need to start with our behavior. That confidence translates as hope, which is such a key ingredient when a parent is having issues. I appreciated his straightforward approach to parenting issues, and his clarity on what needs to happen to turn things around.
Have you had an experience with a parenting coach? If not, would you like one? I have decided to start coaching formally. Having so recently seen the value of Jason Johnson’s coaching, I’d love to offer that to you. Contact me at info@greatparentingpractices.com to get your free hour’s coaching. Then at the end we can explore what other help I can offer you.
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