Parent Coaching
​Parenting teens and young adults is not an easy responsibility. As your child becomes more autonomous and independent, they need different things from you. They want less direction but they still need your loving presence, clear boundaries, and thoughtful support. As your child undergoes this often turbulent and challenging development from dependence towards independence, the parent/child relationship needs to evolve and grow to keep pace with this maturation. In a number of ways, parenting at this stage is akin to good mentoring, so we work with parents to understand and hold many of the perspectives and techniques that we embrace as mentors. The biggest shift is learning to metaphorically move from the driver’s seat to the passenger’s seat, then to the back seat, and eventually leaving the car altogether as your child increasingly takes greater ownership of driving their own life. Here are some of the ways we support families in making this transition:
By understanding and contextualizing what your child may be going through at this time of their development, and how you can best support this process.
- Helping your child shoulder more of the financial, logistical, and decision making responsibilities for their life.
- Cultivate new ways of relating that deepen connection and open communication with your child.
- Establishing and holding realistic expectations and boundaries for your child that support their growth towards independence and relieve you from feeling like you need to control and micro-manage their life and their decisions.
- Learning to hold and elevate the goals and dreams of your child, and not unnecessarily influence them with your beliefs, attachments, and fears.
- Helping you become more comfortable with the inevitable pain that arises for you when you see your child struggling. Recognizing that intervening at the wrong times and in the wrong ways doesn’t make our children stronger and more resilient, but actually does the opposite.
We are available to facilitate difficult conversations between parents and their adolescent/young adult child to ensure that communication is respectful, honest, and effective, aligning everyone around the best long term interests of the child and their growth.