Coaching for Change

Leaders are not born. They are groomed patiently in their formative years. We moderns parents, however, might be hampering this in our enthusiasm to protect our child. Here I share one of the many examples I often come across. A parent’s anxiety on one of the many parents Whatsapp groups I am part of: “Yesterday my child, who is in Grade 8, was told by his teacher that he cannot eat his lunch in the classroom. Apparently, it was against the school policy. He made him eat outside the classroom in areas with benches with shades. I was shocked when I heard this from my child. That’s so cruel. Eating out in the open with no aircon and all the bugs around. My child did not eat a single bite yesterday and came back cranky and hungry. It is absolutely not acceptable. Did you guys know about this policy?”   The discussion that followed attacked the school and the teacher directly. I was shocked to see the overprotectiveness of the paren...

Help your child overcome Public Speaking fear I dedicate this article to my favorite age group… the youth of today. This is a topic about which a lot has been said and written and yet it remains an enigma to most of us when it really shouldn’t be. It should be as easy as it is for a 4-year-old to tell a story. Recently I was invited to mentor a bunch of kids to polish their Public Speaking Skills. These kids were going to present their project to a group of judges and the best idea was to win an award to fund their idea. I first asked them to tell me about their project. As they told me about why they chose the project, the passion, enthusiasm, and energy in their gestures and body language was apparent. Then I asked them to present their idea to me as they would to the judges. Suddenly the whole dynamics changed, the same bubbly bunch became uptight, nervous and robotic. When I asked them what the reason was, they said:  -It’s a formal presentation so we need to look and...

Are You Burning Bridges With Your Child? “My 13-year-old daughter is just so unenthusiastic and passive for just about everything. I have to constantly remind her of small things like putting her shoes away to packing her bags. She is intelligent, but she needs to be reminded to do her homework and prepare for her assessments. When she does it, she does it well…but my pain is the reminders. I feel like a broken record player…you know one that keeps playing the same track again and again!! Arghhh!!! Other children her age are so active and self-motivated” , ranted my client. Fatigue and frustration were apparent in her voice, face and body language. This is a story of not just one parent but of so many of us. As a Mum and Teen Coach, I have had the privilege of listening to both sides of the story on the same issues. The parents see themselves being ignored and disrespected. They also feel frustrated as the responsibility of getting everything done lies on them whilst ...