The Parenting Coach

Part of our children’s overall education is what they do outside of of school as well as in school. Extra-curricular activities contribute to a child’s sense of well-being and provide numerous opportunities to learn new skills and experience a sense of achievement. Part of acknowledging our child’s uniqueness is supporting their interests whether it be in a particular sport or something related to the arts. However, it’s very easy to over-do extra-curricular activities in our desire to give our kids a better chance at succeeding in life. Studies have shown that too much involvement in organized activities can result in burn-out by the time a child is 10 years old. Keep in mind that down time is equally important as structured time. Children need plenty of opportunity to play spontaneously and just “be”.

Many months ago I was interviewed to be part of a story for Today’s Parent Magazine on getting kids to clean up. The story is running in this month’s issue. It covers all ages and offers a variety of suggestions. Here’s the link to the story.

I just came across an excellent series of articles written for parents of teens. They’re posted on the Today’s Parent website: Here’s the link

You’ll learn what’s really going on in the mind of your teenager plus how connected you need to be.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve recently launched my first e-course. I had a number of topics in mind but asked for some feedback from parents and many said they wanted something on self-esteem.

If you’ve never taken an e-course before, it’s a course that is delivered via e-mail over a period of days or weeks. In this case, you’ll receive one lesson a week for six weeks. Although the system is set up to automatically send you the material every seven days, you can email me directly any time with questions.

If raising a self-confident child is important to you, visit my yourchildsselfesteem.com to learn more.

Nathaniel Brandon, an author of several books on the topic says “Self-esteem is the key to success or failure.”

For over a year I’ve been the online parenting expert for a site called Connected Moms. Before I was invited to be a part of the community I had never participated in any kind of online forum. What’s a thread? What’s a SAHM? I felt like I was entering a whole different world. I soon discovered what a valuable life line it offered to moms of kids of all ages. I vividly remember when my kids were small how important it was for me to connect with other women who were also raising small children. I needed the friendship, the stimulation and the ongoing support. Lots of times, which is still the case as I raise teenagers, I just needed to vent.

Connected Moms has a membership of over 2000 which is growing daily. Without having to leave their home, women can instantly connect with friends from all corners of the world to share struggles, talk about current events, support each other’s accomplishments, share parenting tips, and even plan events to meet each other in person. The site has recently been ugraded with more forums, opportunities to advertise and a lot more.

I have my own forum on the site, simply called “The Parenting Coach” where I post articles and answer parenting questions. Parents can also private message me with a question. I have a series of Q & A columns that cover a wide variety of topics, mainly related to toddlers. Virtually all topics related to parenting are included in the forum.

I’m also the resident expert for an on-line site based here in Vancouver; West Coast Moms. What makes this community special is that it is both an offline as well as an online community. Events are planned throughout the year so moms can meet each other in person. This is a fairly new community but has already attracted over 500 members!

I am the resident parenting expert on a large online community for moms called Connected Moms. There is a forum on the site called “Personal Announcements”. I love to read them and today read one from a mom named Meg who posted this beautiful story about her dad. It reminds us how significant the small things in life are.

Here is her post:

I just love my dad so much, and had to share with y’all. I’ve always had a special relationship with my dad - - I’m definitely a “Daddy’s girl.” (I was probably a little spoiled growing up, as I was the baby of the family and the only girl!)

So, when we went to visit my family in July, my dad gave DH and me some extra cash, just for gas money and just because. Well, I called my dad a couple of days ago just to thank him for the cash, and I told him that it really helped us out that month and we put it towards our food budget. (Our budget isn’t that tight, but you know how an extra couple hundred dollars can really help!)

I also told my dad that I spent $12 of the money he gave us to get my nails done…something that I haven’t done in the year that we’ve lived here.

So, my dad called me yesterday to ask me if we would be home this morning, and I said yes, and he said okay, you’ll be getting a FedEx package.

So, we get a fedex envelope this morning:

A check from my dad for $112. He wrote a note that said:

Just because we love you both. Meg, you’ll know what to do with the $12. I love you, dad.

I started crying when I read that. Isn’t that the sweetest thing ever? HE sent us $100 just because, but he gave me money to get my nails done! I love him so much.

I had lunch with a good friend today. We’re both people who take a lot of pride in our homes and love to share decorating plans and ideas.

This friend is also someone who works at a job that doesn’t fulfill her. Consequently she’s often frustrated and out of sorts. I told her that one question coaches ask of their clients from time to time is: “What is your idea of a perfect day?” Why do we ask that? It gives us an idea of what your values are. One of the secrets to happiness is orientating our lives around our values. Many of us lead lives that are not aligned with what we value. We’re working at a job that brings in the income we want but is not something we enjoy doing or we’re living in an area that doesn’t suit us. Many of us are doing something because someone told us it’s what we should be doing.

We give our best to our kids when we’re content. Part of being content is discovering what we value and orienting our lives around our values. Think about your perfect day. What are you doing? Who is with you? Where are you? If your perfect day involves a few different activities, what would they be? How close are you right now to living a life that is aligned with your values?