The Parenting Coach

This guy rocks! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVfJP8h6 hh-FIODxNEe9wzQ

We've all been there!

What is effective parenting?
Think of being an effective parent as a philosophy to guide and teach your child about positive ways to behave and react to any given circumstance. A parenting technique that works well is one that uses guidance and discipline proactively. The goal is to positively encourage your child's sense of responsibility, nurture self-esteem, and strengthen your relationship with your child.
Rob Jones

For all those who have children starting school or moving up a class tomorrow - good luck and best wishes - hope they have a great first day! 🙂

Ad Hoc support sessions
Unlike some counselling services you are welcome to book single or ad hoc sessions with us. Many parents find a single consultation with us is all they need! So if your tired of tantrums, or exhausted by the bedtime battleground message me to see if we can help. Don't forget, our 10% Facebook discount runs until the 15th September!

Quality time - case study
It is very easy to forget the importance of spending "quality" time with your children. It's also easy to lose sight of what "quality" means! A client of mine recently told me he felt guilty because he was always working and never spent any time with his young daughter. He proceeded to tell me how he was going to clear his diary and plan an awesome holiday to Disneyland Paris for the family. I agreed this sounded like a good idea - but then encourage...d him to commit to spending 10 minutes a day devoting every second of the time to his daughter. I suggested he turned off his phone, took off his watch and just enjoyed spending some time cuddling, reading or otherwise enjoying her company before bed - the mans eyes lit up, he had never considered such a small amount of time could be so precious! Remember, it is the small things as well as the large that are important - they may sometimes seem insignificant to us but they can mean the world to our children!
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Try to help your children to learn resilience and bear frustration.
It can be really important to help children to become more resilient, even from an early age. If they can't complete a jigsaw puzzle , sometimes we can't bear their frustration and do it for them. But we all need to bear frustration throughout life. Learning to become resilient and deal with it is a good skill. Be a sensitive parent who can judge how far they can support their child to tolerate frustration. Then, if they have managed something well, help them notice what they have done, help them reflect. Try not to "jump in" too quickly, it is an important life lesson for children to learn how to cope with difficulties and find resourceful ways to achieve their desired outcomes.

To celebrate our new Facebook page clients will receive a 10% discount on every online support session. To qualify book your first session with us prior to the 15th September and receive the discount on all subsequent sessions!

Consistency
Lets face it, parenting in a consistent way can sometimes be tough. Life, unexpected events and plain old tiredness can easily throw us off track. One of the most powerful parenting techniques we have is consistency. Often when I first speak to parents they admit this can be lacking.
Lets look at it like this -
... Monday - Your child hasn't tidied their room. You forget to speak to them about it and it remains untidied.
Tuesday - The room still has not been tidied - despite reminders being given. In the end you get side tracked or simply give up asking.
Wednesday - The room still has not been tidied - boiling point is now reached!! You shout at your child and end up tidying it yourself as it seems quicker and less stressful to do this.
Looking at it from the child's perspective, over three days they have had three vastly varying reactions from their not doing what they have been told. Ultimately the child also learned that after shouting for a bit you will tidy their room for them anyway!
Clearly this is only a scenario, but one similar to the descriptions I hear from many parents. Remember, consistency is key. The bottom line is the room should have been tidied by the child on Monday - but it is easy to see how the situation escalates.
Children learn from a consistent approach that your expectation of them to behave in a certain way is not going to change. Children generally thrive on routine, but where it is lacking winning it back can be a struggle.
Fostering and managing a consistent routine is so important, not just for your child but also for you as a family. Remember, establishing consistency may be challenging initially, but the rewards are reaped in the long term - and everyone wins!
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Back to school! This time of year can be exciting but also daunting for some children (and parents too). I remember the worries I had when my children started nursery, then primary school and finally onto secondary education. There were bumps along the way, along with joy and tears - but one thing I am sure of is that as parents we usually worry more about our children starting school more than they do! I'm also convinced this is entirely normal!