Finding a Life Coach or Mentor for your kid can be like just going into the grocery store or TJ Maxx/Marshalls, you walk in to buy one thing and walk out with $100 worth of items that were never on the original list.
(entering scene) SHINY THINGS and CHOICES.
We want to make your search for a quality Life Coach simple and most importantly transparent for you and your family. To help you in this next step, take a gander below at, “2 Crazy Important Factors When Looking for a Life Coach” and “2 Mandatory Reminders for Parents When Looking for a Life Coach”.
There are plenty of reasons why families look for additional support with their teens/young adult children. It is a move that can greatly impact not only the younger person, but the family as a whole. Follow these 6 very important gold nuggets of information during your search, and if you have any more questions without wanting to feel pressured into purchasing a “I don’t know what I’m getting myself into” Life Coaching package, please email us at info@youtimecoach.com.
2 Crazy Important Factors When Looking for a Life Coach:
#1 Their coaching is proven to work.
Life Coaches and Mentors should not guarantee results, BUT what they should do is provide transparency about what they base their coaching methods off of. For instance, YouTime Coaching uses multiple personal/professional change and motivation based theories and methods when working with younger people. YouTime makes it a priority to engrain the “Stages of Change” model into our work with young people, which has been backed by, oh, just a mere 35 years of scientific research.
You should ask your potential Life Coach and/or Mentor how they use this within their work with your kid and family. Many Life Coaches have programs that sound very appealing with no research backing their methods, leaving an uncertain risk of backfiring and unknown results.
#2 Your coach and young person should be like peas and carrots, peanut butter and jelly, mashed potatoes and… you get it.
The goal is not a perfect fit, but a healthy one. Any therapeutic relationship (especially when it is goal-oriented) will heavily rely on a trusting, safe, and secure relationship. Keep in mind, a healthy relationship still takes time to develop but after the first 4-weeks or so you and your young person should have a pretty good understanding of the relationship with their coach.
For example, YouTime Coaching sets up a phone call with the parents (to get to know them and learn more about what is going on with their young person), followed by a “meet-up” with the young person (to get to know/introduce ourself, and start establishing a non-judgmental rapport), wrapping up with a last call to the parents (to get/give perspective on the meeting and determine next steps).
Make sure your coach is putting in the time to get to know your young person and not simply trying to “solve their problems”, which may seems alluring but can be counter-intuitive in the long run. You can find more transparency by communicating with your kid during the process, asking questions, and seeing if “parent check-ins” are appropriate with your Life Coach.
2 Mandatory Reminders for Parents When Looking for a Life Coach
#1 Your insider trading information for the day… your neighbor’s kids work with a Life Coach.
The Smith’s… they work with one. The Johnson’s son… he definitely works with one. The family that just moved around the corner… yeah, their daughter works with one. Maybe they aren’t your neighbors but it’s more common than you think. Being a pro-active parent instead of reactive in getting your kid the support they need is something that should be made priority. We can not tell you the number of times we’ve heard, “I wish there were more companies like you out there.” Not to toot our own horn, but factually there are not enough quality Life Coaches that specialize in working with young people, let alone integrating in the parents to the process.
Start your research now, even if they are not open to it, because some day (sooner than you probably expected), they will need the support.
#2 Waiting a long-time to contact a Life Coach for your kid may say more about your parenting style.
Life Coaches are not in the business of labeling “bad parents” and “bad children”, so no one is pointing fingers. Based on what we have seen with all of the families we’ve worked with, sometimes it is hard to pull the trigger. YouTime has worked with kids returning from Wilderness Therapy Programs, kids with ADHD, executive functioning/process speed deficits, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, motivational challenges, and much more. Throughout working with these kids, we have learned a lot about parents.
As a parent, the initial call to a Life Coach specializing in working with young people and families should be filled with questions and a curious mind to what the process may entail. Do not minimize the importance of this initial step. Sometimes your kid may know you are doing this, and other times may not. Regardless, be well informed and equipped for when your kid or you may actually need some real specialized support.
There you go! Take this information, do your research, email us if you need help, and know that working with a Life Coach is a decision you and your kid make, not the coach.
Parenting Quote of the Day:
