Do you cringe when you witness your kids' disappointment or embarrassment when they try something and it doesn't turn out as they had hoped? When they’re sad, disappointed or embarrassed, is your first instinct to help them feel better about it as soon as possible?

Take a minute to think back to some epic “fails” in your life, and consider the lessons you learned from them.  I’m guessing...

When I began receiving coaching, and then becoming a coach myself, I found myself needing to “unlearn” habits and ways of thinking that had been ingrained in me since childhood. As I coach parents now, I find that I’m helping them do the same.

This got me thinking, what can we do to help our children learn these different ways of thinking to avoid years of struggling emotionally – both as an...

As a parent, do you get concerned and sad when you hear your child talk about their doubts, worries, and negative thoughts about themselves? This came up recently in a coaching session with a Mom who was concerned about the things that her 4 year old daughter was saying about herself.  She was starting to hear her daughter talk negatively about herself…  that she wasn’t a good listener, and...

As another Father’s Day is upon us I took time to think about my relationship with my Dad, what I learned from him, and what parenting qualities I appreciated and wanted to carry on for my own children.  

Let me start with a little background…  My Dad came from a large family of 14, with 9 brothers and 4 sisters.  He always wanted to have sons, but ended up with three girls of which I...

As parents, we truly want what is best for our children, and we parent with a heavy emphasis on what experiences will best benefit our children based on our past experiences.  We have ideas of what experiences they “should” have, and what we think they “should” be doing. 

When they are little, we are working on instilling our values and teaching them a moral compass. It gets a little...

Learning what to do when your children have an emotional outburst, meltdown or tantrum is the top parenting tool that I teach as part of the Conscious Parenting Toolbox…  just knowing and implementing this strategy can make a world of difference in how you parent!

What do you do when your child has a meltdown, or an over the top emotional reaction?  Do you end up frustrated and at times you end up...

As a parent, do you have a difficult time when your child is anxious, afraid, disappointed, or sad?  Does your brain start running a “something is wrong” program and start looking for ways to “fix” what’s wrong so your child can feel better?  I know that mine does!

When your brain tells you something is wrong, you start looking for solutions.  You think that if your kid was...

GUILT...  If you are a parent, I’m sure this is a feeling that you are quite familiar with!  Just think about how many opportunities there are in a single day to second guess yourself as a parent.  If you’re like me, too many to count!

A couple of weeks ago I first blogged about where guilt comes from, and what keeps it alive.  I made the case that guilt is self-destructive and...

Happy Mother’s Day fellow mamas!!  I am celebrating all of YOU this weekend as I celebrate myself and my own journey too!

I received the weekly newsletter from The Life Coach School CEO this week and it opened with a question: “What if I believed about myself everything I tell my children to believe about themselves?”

Wow - that really got me thinking…  I think I’m pretty...

If I asked you to list the top 3 feelings that you feel on a regular basis, what would they be? Working with parent clients, I find that the top contenders are guilt, doubt, anxiety (worry), and overwhelm.  Guilt is typically right up there.  There’s even a name for it, “Mom Guilt”.  When you say that everyone knows exactly what you’re talking about.  It doesn’t matter...

Did you know that advertising targeted to kids is over $4 billion a year? Yes, you heard me…  $4 BILLION.  But given that kids can influence parents spending, sometimes up to 98% of the time, it seems that the marketing spend is worth it.  But what kind of messages are our kids getting, how are they being influenced?

Now, we think that the main point of the marketing is to create a desire for the...

Let’s talk about feelings.  Let’s just go there, just for a bit.  Does this make you uncomfortable?  You are not alone.  I find this all the time in my coaching.  I ask someone how they “feel” and they can’t answer me. 

As a coach, I spend a lot of time teaching parents about feelings, why they’re important, how to tune in to their own feelings, and how...