We Reap What We Sow

I have a small flip calendar on the counter near my kitchen sink. Each morning I flip to the current day and read the saying or phrase meant to be a thought-starter for the day. Today’s piece really hit home for me as it is a strong part of the foundation of how I work with parents. It said, “You can preach a better sermon with your LIFE than with your LIPS.” Perhaps it sounds obvious or very basic to most of us but as I got thinking about it I realized there are so many connections that apply to raising children. Along the same lines, Dorothy Law Nolte said, “Children learn what they live.”
I recently read that children are video recorders on wheels. Like a video recorder they take in everything happening in front of them and replay it when it fits in their lives. The question is what do we want our children to replay?
As adults we have many values and expectations for our children. For each family those values are perhaps similar to others but unique within their family structure. I always smile when I am out somewhere and I have the opportunity to watch parents as they interact with others in front of their children. Without realizing it, they use daily life as a teachable moment. They hold the door for someone else, let another car merge in front of them, treat wait-staff in a restaurant or a clerk in a store with courtesy and respect. We attended the Buick Open several years ago and watched one of the pros throw a club after a less than great shot. A dad and his son were standing nearby and I heard the dad process the incident with his son discussing more appropriate sportsmanship. How easy it might have been for the dad to just let it go and let the boy believe that behavior is okay.
Most of us want our children to be respectful and kind to others. Every time we as adults are respectful to our children or to someone else we are modeling how to be respectful. This intentional modeling takes effort but the outcome is so worth it. As Joseph Chilton Pearce said, “We must become the people we want our children to be.”

Getting to the Heart of Parenting-The Joys of Being a Parent Coach

The majority of my career was spent in elementary schools first as a classroom teacher and, later in my career, as an elementary school counselor. Over the years, I watched children come and go and got to know many of their families.
I took great delight in getting to know and work with so many of the amazing parents and/or grandparents of the children in my class or in one of my schools. I have a number of longtime friends whose children were in my class many years ago.
After I retired my career evolved into counseling in a clinical setting. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the children who were my clients however I equally enjoyed working with their parents. I found these parents to be so committed to being the very best they could be. I discovered the more involved the parents were in the process, the faster and more successful the progress of their children.
I have narrowed my focus once again and now work in my private practice as a licensed professional counselor specializing in parenting, family and school issues. I love it when delighted parents come back to a session excitedly declaring that they tried one of the ideas or strategies we developed and it worked!
I believe that parents are a child’s best advocate in this world. I love to be able help parents discover the tools within themselves to strengthen the bond and connection they have with their children. As Oprah Winfrey once said, “We did the best with what we knew; now we know more so we can do better.” It is so true.

Welcome to Parent Coaching Connection!

Parent Coaching Connection L.L.C. is for confident, effective parents with healthy families.  We show parents and grandparents a new way to think about and understand themselves and their children.  We show them how they can use this new understanding to significantly improve the connection and communication they have with their children.  As part of the process participants receive lots of new tools and strategies they can use immediately to improve communication and reduce family stress and conflict.

The parent coaching model is strength-based, solution-focused, forward-thinking and goal oriented.   Our work focuses on your values, your principles and your lifestyle as we work to:

• uncover issues,
• break them into manageable chunks,
• set goals, and
• brainstorm solutions.

This is about what YOU want for yourself and your family.

As your coach I will be your biggest cheerleader!  But I will also hold you accountable for achieving your own growth and success as a parent or grandparent.

If you are a pro-active parent in a high-functioning family and would like additional parenting tools, strategies, and support to help you work through a challenging or difficult situation—I can help!