Why do we need parenting coaching?

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world and yet as parents we are not given any manuals and guidelines when we bring our baby home from the hospital. There are neither classes nor schools for parents to attend or graduate from.

Parenting is certainly no sport for the weak. The games are packed with obstacles and challenges that you may not be familiar with. Just like in sports, from badminton to swimming, you wouldn't dream of excelling without a coach. Parent coaching like all other coaching helps by letting you see your potential when you are feeling lost and hopeless. A coach helps by seeing the desired results, plan with you the steps towards your success and patiently reminding you of those steps.

Many of my clients have engaged me for help because they simply want someone who can walk with them shoulder to shoulder in their struggles with their parenting journey. Sometimes just getting someone from the outside looking in is all you need to create a new perspective and to help you see things from a different angle altogether. I always remind my clients that they are the expert of their own family. We simply co-create the future together. Think of parenting coach as a trusted family member with the top-notch know-how.

Being a parent myself, I know how big and scary this role of a lifetime can be. We all just want to get it right. But everyone's "right" is different. I believe there is no one right way of doing things. Otherwise our parents' approach of bringing us up would have been passed down from generation after generation. Parenting is about change and growth - ours and our children's.  There is no easy and simple formula. It's about knowledge, flexibility, teachability and hard work. If that's how you see it too, then parenting coaching may be right for you.

Contact me now for a parenting coaching session and you will be glad that you have taken the first step to feeling more confident and empowered in your parenting journey.

Effective Communication

It's been a while since I last posted. Life has been rather busy with 3 sick and vomiting kids, parenting talks and coaching sessions. I would like to share with you a topic that I recently shared with parents at a primary school.

To have an effective communication with your child, first you gotta have good listening skills. What's a good listening skills?

Well you need to use active listening skills when your child starts communicating with you. What is active listening skill? Active listening skills is when you encourage your child to express himself verbally without influencing him with your own preconceived notions or opinions. 

Your child will get to express himself while you just simply listen without forming any opinions. It does require a lot of practice and patience to be good at this, but I do hope you will try it out. Your child would then be able to share more with you without fearing about what you may judge or think. 

Tabletop Family Bonding Programme

I will be conducting a family bonding programme at Nan Chiau High School tomorrow morning and this is my personal favourite as I would be sharing my passion for board games with other families.

I love board games since I was a child. When I was in NZ, I discovered a whole new world of German board games which are not mainstream games like Monopoly or Scrabble. German board games require more strategy thinking and less luck is involved. There is something special about board games, something unique. They have the power to fascinate, to charm and to educate you. Albert Einstein once said "Games are the most elevated form of investigation." When you play board games, all your intelligence and attention are focused into solving the problems of the game. Playing keeps you creative and it makes you learn.

I love spending time with my children playing board games. Children loves to play and as adults we don't play enough. When we play board games with our children, we are allowing ourselves to be on the same level playing field as our children, and children will tend to open up more and share with us more when they feel relaxed and calm.

It is my sincere hope that more families will come together to play board games and have a great fun and laughter bonding together through games.

If you are interested to find out more about playing board games and would like to introduce to your family, your work, your school or your community please feel free to contact me at 92388060. I will be happy to run a workshop to introduce you to this wonderful world of German board games.

Upcoming parenting and family life education talks

I will be giving parenting talks at schools in the coming months as we get into the full swing of 2014.

Some of the topics that I would be sharing with parents will be:

• Help your child beat exam stress
• How to get your kids to listen without yelling, reminding and nagging
• The importance of family bonding
• Board games family fun

If you would like to find out more, do email me and join me as we navigate together through this journey we called parenthood.

Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Chinese New Year!

It would be a busy busy time during Chinese New Year for me and my family as we celebrate the year of the Horse together. I just want to take this opportunity to wish all my readers, my clients and the parents out there a blessed, wonderful and prosperous Chinese New Year.

I told my kids that it's important to spend time and absorb the wonderful moments and memories of CNY with your family and loved ones and not just be absorbed in their world of gadgets. Otherwise, when they grow up, they won't remember much about the quality time that they spent during CNY but rather just the memories of playing Temple Run, Clumsy Ninja or even Angry Birds.

I know it's much easier for us parents to use gadgets to entertain our children and to get them occupied. But I urge you as parents to find the time to spend time with them and perhaps play some board games with them during CNY - memories of shared fun and laughter will linger on and will be cherished even more as they grow up.

Are you having any of these sleep issues with your child?

If you are still sleep deprived, then I would suggest getting a sleep training package. Sleep training solution is for parents who would like their child to learn to sleep independently. An email and phone package is very effective, thorough and convenient and you will get lots of guidance and support throughout the process. Now your child may have all or some of the following sleep challenges for us to solve:

• Waking during the night 
• Life changing events - affecting sleep
• Early riser 
• Cat naps? This is not healthy sleep habits 
• Do you NOT have a routine? Don't you prefer to live life knowing what's next? Well, so does your child! 
• Are you over rocking your baby for hours?
• Is your child cranky and exhausted easily? 
• Have you accidently created a sleep habit for your child that is not working anymore? 
• Struggling to remove a dummy or another sleep habit that is not working for you anymore! 
• Expanding your family? A 2nd or 3rd child is much easier to introduce if you are sleeping! 

Have you had enough of sleep deprivation?

If you have then it's time to take that first step towards getting back your sleep again. Make 2014 a year where you can get back your sleep and start teaching your child that very important skill of self-settling. I can assure you it will be the best decision you ever made.

Contact me now!

Happy New Year 2014!

To all my readers and parents out there, I just wanna wish you a very blessed new year and may all your year be filled with more love, joy, laughters and blessings! Here's to a great year ahead!