Parent As Coach

Me, a coach?!   I don’t even play sports!

As parents, we take on many roles: chauffer, banker, nurse, lawyer and even police officer. Have you ever considered the role of coach?

An athletic coach is one who encourages, motivates and corrects. A coach is patient and a coach listens. A coach brings out the best in the athlete and prepares the athlete for his future, whether it’s college or the pros.

How does this apply to parenting?

Parenting in its purest and original form is like a coach. A Parent Coach (PC) encourages and motivates their teen to move forward and be their best. A PC is patient and listens to their child in order to understand their point of view. The PC corrects in love with their child’s best interest at heart.   The PC helps their teen discover their talents, helps them achieve their goals and prepares them for the future.

Sometimes, instead of being in Parent-Coach mode, we enter into parenting “survival mode.” We become consumed with just surviving and making it to the next day. Sometimes we forget to live and to invest in our children. We need to pay the bills, drop the kids off at school, pick them up, go to their activities, go to work and try to stay sane! Let’s not even mention taking time out to care for ourselves! Parenting was meant to be much more than surviving until the kids get out of the house.

Over the next few months, we will be talking more about the Parent as Coach concept and you will be provided with practical tips on Parent Coaching that will take you from surviving to thriving.

Are you ready to start the journey?

This is your activity section. This is where we begin taking action steps to become the best parent possible.

STEP 1: Get a notebook and write down your progress and your thoughts. Make this notebook specifically for your parenting journey. Writing can help with your perspective on life - you may notice that things are not so bad or you may notice that aspects of your life could use some improvement.

STEP 2: Write down the activity and assignments in your notebook and make an attempt to do them.

STEP 3: Carve out five minutes to do the assignment or activity. I know we’re busy, but it’s worth it.

ACTIVITY: Please answer the following questions and do the assignment.

1.       Which of these coaching characteristics are strengths for me? ( Please add some of your own characteristics to the list)

2.       Which areas could use some improvement? (make your own list if needed)

3.       Am I in Parent-Coaching mode or survival mode?

4.       Pick one of your strong coaching characteristics and take it to the next level! If you are good at encouraging then become great at encouraging. It’s easier to look at what we do wrong but this time we’ll focus on what we do right.