FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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WHAT IS LIFE COACHING FOR KIDS?
Life coaching for kids is all about empowering kids through mindset development. Kids learn how to use the power of their mind and the power of their thoughts to create happiness, confidence, and success in their lives, so that they can take their life, goals, and dreams wherever they want to go.
Coaching helps kids:
• Develop resilience skills. A life coach helps children learn how to manage life’s “curveballs” — whether it’s facing a big change or dealing with a major disappointment. Kids learn how to bounce back and pick themselves up, so they can “go for it” in life.
• Develop self-esteem from the “inside out”. This helps kids learn how to base their self-esteem on who they are, not on what they have achieved, who they know, or what they do.
• Learn to believe in themselves and build self-confidence. A life coach helps kids learn how to move through anxiety and fear, so they can stretch outside of their comfort zone, create courage, and go for their dreams with confidence.
• Develop their own “inner compass”. A life coach helps kids learn how to think for themselves and make good decisions, so they can stand up to peer pressure and be their own person.
• Learn to live life with intention versus drifting through life without direction. By learning self-leadership skills, kids develop an empowered way of thinking that will help them develop a vision for their lives. Life coaching is about supporting our kids in living their best life!
Just like a baseball coach helps kids develop skills, confidence, and ability to thrive in baseball; a Certified WISDOM Coach helps kids develop the skills, confidence, and ability to thrive in life.
WHAT IS A GROWTH MINDSET?
Did you know that children with a growth mindset are far more positive, successful and confident? They see challenges as an opportunity to grow.
We all want our children to be happy and to walk in the world with their heads held high - the question is, how do we teach them to do that?
No matter how much we love our children, we can't waive a magic wand and poof, you have self-esteem, self-confidence or success in life. What we can do is help them to develop it in themselves.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHILD NEEDS COACHING?
Life coaching for adults has become very common and can be extremely helpful and beneficial in various areas of our life.
Life coaching for kids has been proven to be just as beneficial or even more so since they are at an early stage of their life where they are learning, growing, developing and experiencing new and difficult challenges at a fast rate.
Life coaching for kids is especially beneficial if there are specific areas of need to address and help improve with the child; however it isn’t just for kids who are facing challenges or problems.
Helping kids learn how to reach their fullest potential is about personal development and personal empowerment so that they will be ready to face any challenge that comes their way. They can use the skills they learn for the rest of their lives!
If you answered yes to any of the questions from the homepage of this site, coaching would certainly be of great benefit and value.
HOW IS COACHING KIDS DIFFERENT THAN COACHING ADULTS?
If you are familiar with the life coaching model for adults, then you know that the primary tool used by a life coach is questions.
Through the questioning process, the coach facilitates self-discovery and awareness of situations in that client’s life and then supports them in developing a plan for change.
Although this is a powerful process for adults, the questioning process alone won’t work for kids. And the reason is brain development!
The traditional coaching model works for adults because the frontal lobe of adults’ brains, where critical thinking occurs, is fully developed. These critical thinking skills enable adults to make distinctions and to draw conclusions more effectively. Adults also have greater life experience from which to draw upon. This is why life coaches use questions as their main tool for engaging with their adult clients.
Children’s brains are different. Their frontal lobes are not fully developed, nor are their critical reasoning skills. This is where we come in!
The system we use is called the WISDOM System for Coaching Kids. Through the system kids learn how to use their mind’s power and the power of their thoughts to create happiness, confidence, and success in their lives. With a coach’s guidance, kids can then learn how to apply the skills to their own lives.
And of course, a child’s attention span tends to be a lot shorter as well — which is why it is important to find fun and engaging ways to work with kids. This is one of the best parts... using relatable stories and super fun activities that are super powerful and effective for coaching kids!
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF USING STORIES?
Stories are powerful.
Stories are a great tool to start a conversation with kids.
Stories help kids get in touch with their thoughts and feelings.
Through these powerful stories, children are able to see the skills in action.
As a result, coaching kids requires a stronger teaching component to help them learn powerful mindset skills for navigating the ups and downs of growing up and creating a path to accomplish their goals.
And that is why stories are such a powerful tool for coaching kids!
When children are provided with a layer of knowledge using stories, and then questions and activities are used to help children apply that knowledge to their own lives, powerful transformation can occur.
WHAT AGE IS THE RIGHT TIME FOR MY CHILD TO RECEIVE COACHING?
It is recommended that children can begin coaching as early as six years of age. My primary emphasis is working with kids in the 6 -12 year old age range.
HOW DOES COACHING FIT IN WITH PARENTING?
As a parent, you are the hero in your child's life. You are the person they turn to for love, support and guidance. You are core to their moral and character development. You support their education and help them develop their talents in extracurricular activities such as sports, music, art and dance. You cheer for their successes and hug them when they face disappointments. You take them to the doctor when they get sick and provide love and guidance throughout their lives.
Sometimes we the parent recognize that our child could use some additional support and we are not quite sure how to help. The most beneficial and impactful thing we can do is to search out for a caring, supportive professional to join our "parenting team" and work together to best support our child.
When a parent seeks for help with their child, it does not mean that they are an "ineffective parent". It's exactly the opposite!
Just as some children may require additional support learning math, playing a musical instrument or developing skills in sports, many children also need additional support in the areas of developing resilience and coping skills, building self-esteem, creating confidence, enhancing self-leadership, overcoming shyness, dealing with bullies, managing peer pressure, learning to set and achieve goals and so much more.
Life coaching for kids is about mindset development - it targets the root of the thought patterns that hold children back and helps kids create thought patterns that will help them soar.
Coaching empowers children with a specific set of skills they can use throughout their childhood, teen years and into adulthood.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE COACHING FOR KIDS AND COUNSELLING?
Although life coaching and counselling may have similarities, such as asking the critical questions, listening, and finding patterns in people’s lives, they are not the same thing.
Counselling is designed to help those with more serious issues lead a more normal, productive life or to get back on track – these types of issues might include anxiety, depression, or OCDs – moving past abuse or going through a personal crisis at home such as an illness or divorce.
Life Coaching is different. It is about helping people get from where they are to where they want to be. For most people that means reaching higher goals and creating tremendous success, creating more balance and happiness in their lives, and feeling more fulfilled in their lives and their relationships – it’s about creating what they want.
In many ways, counselling is about resolving or managing issues from the past, whereas life coaching is about creating the future and helping clients achieve the ultimate vision they have for their lives.
WHAT OTHER AREAS SHOULD I FOCUS ON TO MAXIMIZE MY CHILD'S GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ?
I'm glad you asked!...
We sometimes don't realize the incredible impact certain areas are in relation to the development of our child. Some are simple to focus on and don't require a great deal of extra effort on our part to experience dramatic results. Others take more time, energy and greater knowledge and understanding.
My recommendation for myself and others is to focus on one area that may have the greatest immediate impact and is the easiest to do, and focus on that. When that becomes more of a habit and is working well for us, move to another area for a period of time and judge it's impact through our consistency.
There are some areas that we can have a great deal of control over and that can provide a great deal of impactful change.
A few of these include:
- the foods and drinks we provide and give access to our child and in the quantity and consistency they are provided
- the amount of water in particular that they drink vs other types of sugary, etc. drinks
- the amount of movement and exercise they have
- the amount of daylight / sun they are exposed to vs indoors
- the duration of our child's sleep each night
- the quality of our child's sleep
- the duration and type of screen time and technology we allow
- the amount of educational and mind-stimulating games provided in addition to simply fun games
- the quantity and quality of time we as parents invest in our child's life
- the additional opportunities we provide for the development of community and friendship with others
- the time and focus invested in being of service and caring for others
- the investment of time, energy and focus in helping our child know how special and loved they are
- the investment of time and energy in helping our child learn new skills that may be special to us as well
- the investment in our child's life by sharing and participating in our positive, impactful belief systems
- ... and many more...
I can provide guidance and support in these areas and more from my personal and professional experiences.
Getting Started and Logistical Information
HOW DO I GET MY CHILD(REN) / FAMILY STARTED IN THE COACHING PROCESS?
If you are interested in beginning the coaching process, please schedule a time for us to chat through my calendar link at the bottom of this FAQ. This will schedule a convenient time for us to get to know each other, answer your questions and to learn about and discuss the needs and goals of your family. After this initial discovery session, if you have a desire for me to join your parenting team and begin coaching sessions, you will be provided with a welcome packet with forms, documents, resources, methods of payment and the coaching agreement.
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
Can I contact you in-between my child's coaching sessions?
Yes! In adddition to my personal coaching sessions with your child(ren), you the parent/guardian will also have access to me throughout the program via your own secure personalized private Client Website. In the event that you would like support on something that comes up in between your child's sessions, you can post an inquiry to the Client Log and you can experience "just in time" coaching.
ACCESSING THE PRIVATE CLIENT AREA
What is the "Register Now" link and when would I use it?
If you are interested in becoming a client or beginning the coaching process, you can create your own account to access the private client area. When you "register" I will be notified that your account has been created and I will need to activate your account. This could take up to 24 hours.
How do I access your private client area and how do I log in?
Click on the Login link in the navigational menu of this website. Then enter the username and password that has been assigned to you. Don't have login information yet? Contact me so we can get an account created for you.
I have a password that I use for most of my on-line accounts. Can I change the password you assigned to me?
Yes. You will need to log in initially using the password I assigned to you. Once you log in, you can change your password at any time in your Client Profile page, that you find under the FORMS tab.
What if I forget or lose my password and login information?
If you simply forgot your password, you can still go to the Login page by clicking the Login link. Click on the blue link "forgot password" to the right of the "Login" button and, in the new "Forgot Password" window, enter your username and click on the "Continue" button. You will receive an email shortly with your password included.
If you misplaced both your username and password, contact me and I will forward you your information.
I’m trying to log in, but it will not accept my username or password, what do I do?
Remember that the login information is case sensitive, so enter it exactly like it was given to you. Also, type in your login credentials and DO NOT copy/paste it, as this procedure can include empty spaces, which count in a password, thus rendering incorrect. Again, if you do not remember your login credentials, you can contact me via email and I'll forward them to you.
SECURITY & CONFIDENTIALITY
Is this client center and my data secured and safe?
Yes! In fact, there are 3 levels of security: provided to keep your data safe and confidential:
- Username and password protected;
- Verisign Security Certificate protects your data on this site;
- Secured pages (https://)
Is my information confidential?
Yes. This site is protected by a username/password system. You are the only one that has access to your information.
SCHEDULING/RESCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS
What if I need to reschedule my child's appointment?
It's easy. With at least a 24 hour notice, you can reschedule any appointment by using the online calendar system. Just complete the following steps:
- Log into your Private Client Website Area.
- Click on the Calendar Menu.
- Locate and click on the desired block of “Available” time (or if you already have an existing appointment, click on the title of your existing appointment that you wish to reschedule)
- Click on the "edit" button and change the details of the appointment to correspond with an "Available" block of time.
- The calendar will update itself, you'll see your new appointment reflected and I will receive an email notification letting me know of the change.
- For specific answers to your questions and to chat about your family dynamics and needs, simply schedule a convenient time through my calendar link below for us to personally chat. I look forward to speaking with you and getting to know you.
