After I hung up the phone, I took a moment to reflect on the words the mom on the other end of the line had shared with me towards the end of our conversation, “Thanks for talking me off the ledge.”
As a parent coach, whose main focus is on educating, supporting, and encouraging moms and dads in the midst of raising tweens and teens in our [sometimes] crazy world today, I have been blessed to be part of many calls where the overall tone from the parent moves from panic to creating a positive plan of action.
You see, just as many adolescents occasionally feel anxious, overwhelmed, or lost; so do their parents. Parenting a tween/teenager can feel like an isolating job at times, wouldn’t you agree?
Let’s face it, when things go awry under your roof trying to keep up the highlight reel of fabulous family highlights on Facebook gets harder to conjure up. When a teen begins to act out and a parent is out of tools in their parenting skill set they often discover a place of despair and many don’t feel they can really confide in their friends…what would their friends think or say? What if they won’t let their kid hang out with my kid anymore?
Parents, like kids, can sometimes feel judged. Often without justification because none of us gets through this stage of development with our kids without some bumps.
I chose to get certified as a parent coach (who loves working with moms and dads of adolescents), not because I am the perfect mom whose kids never trigger my frustration and who always listen to me; I am a parent coach because I don’t think there is enough support, fellowship, and encouragement for parents in the throes of raising teens. And because with thirty years of ups and downs parenting five very different souls myself, I understand parents need compassion and not judgment.
Maybe you wish there was some ongoing education with regards to parenting…after all, most of us took a birthing class/breastfeeding course that may have even covered the baby and toddler years. Often life gets busy and we don’t take the time (until a crisis hits) to keep up with new tools or schools of thought on what is arguably the MOST important role we can take on in this life, right?
I would like to offer you a list of my five favorite parenting titles; the ones that have helped me most as a mother, and the ones I also recommend to my clients.
- Untangled by Lisa Damour, Ph.D. (for parents of girls)
Some of these are available on audio books so you can put your commute to good use, or create some quiet time during the day to brush up on your parenting.
Family life can be chaotic and complicated; parents are in the driver’s seat to creating the environment and values they model and instill in their children. Now, more than ever before, it’s important that we invest in our family relationships.
If you, or someone you know, would like to learn more about how a parent coach can help your family, please shoot me an email at [email protected].
Kim Muench is a Flower Mound mother of five kiddos between the ages of ten and thirty. She is a certified parent coach who loves working with moms and dads of adolescents to build stronger, healthier connections in their home. To learn more, visit her website at www.realifeparentguide.com.
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