Parent Coaching: 3 Awesome Ways to Be a Better Parent!
Parent Coaching isn’t deep therapy. It is simply a way to help you try new approaches when the old ways are no longer working. Sometimes we get stuck in a loop and can’t seem to shift to a new path.
Parents can learn to not to overreact. There are techniques to help you pause, stop and think and not respond too quickly. Whether it involves letting go of your teen’s sense of urgency about a party that very night, or being yelled and cursed at, know how to buy time to make a good decision or how not to add fuel to the fire in the face of an angry teen.
Parents can learn to manage their own anxiety. Most parents don’t like to think of themselves as anxious especially because they often don’t have panic symptoms like a raised heart rate or shortness of breath. Nevertheless, when you find yourself trying to fix the future before it happens- that is- trying to prevent future catastrophes you imagine are going to happen because your teen is doing… well, that’s anxiety! And believe me, our kids know it! The message they hear is that you don’t trust them to handle their lives. In order to guide them, we must manage our fears and stressors.
Parents can learn to listen in such a way that it encourages your teen to open up. Open-ended questions, neutral comments, and a host of techniques can make your teen feel free of the fear of being judged and foster a more open relationship between the two of you.
Parents who have changed their behaviors in just these three areas are often amazed at how that in turn causes their teens to react to them more positively. A win-win for all!