1. What is life coaching for children? Life coaching for children is all about empowering children through mindset development.  Children learn skills that help them through the current challenges of growing up and are supportive through all stages of life.  Child life coaching helps children develop positive belief systems, supportive habits, and the skills to handle the ups and downs of life.  It supports children in creating happiness, confidence, and success in their lives.

Life coaching for children equips children with the tools to take their life, goals, and dreams wherever they want to go!

2. Isn't this the parent's job?  Parents are always their child’s first and most important teacher!  A Child Life Coach works in partnership with parents and is a part of the parent’s team of trusted advisors to help their child thrive in life.  Alongside the many important skills that parents teach their children, a Child Life Coach will assist as a third party by teaching children some of the most challenging mindset skills, implementing supportive coaching strategies and providing the time and space to connect and practice those skills away from their everyday life.  However, outside of coaching sessions, a child’s work excels as they begin to apply the skills and make them their own in life.   As always, parents remain an integral part of their child’s learning and growing - just as they do with education, sports, music lessons, or any other type of learning and growing.

3. My child doesn't have a problem... is life coaching right for my child? Life coaching isn’t just for children who are facing challenges or problems. Helping children learn how to reach their fullest potential is about personal development and personal empowerment so that they will have tools for the unique challenges and opportunities they will face as a child, teenager, and adult. The skills they learn can be used for the rest of their lives!

4. What will my child learn? Through Mindset Coaching, children learn powerful mindset skills and how to use those skills in their own unique situations to create happiness, confidence and fulfillment in their lives - the key is how they think about themselves and what is possible for their lives.  Common reasons that parents seek a Child Life Coach for their child are for concerns of low self esteem, big changes in life, bullying others, or being bullied.  Other reasons may include wanting to help their child be more successful in school, sports, or other extra curricular activities, struggles with anxious feelings, shyness, confidence, making poor choices with peers.   Some parents seek life coaching for children because they want to give their child a jumpstart in developing self leadership skills, their child has struggles at home around homework, chores, and other responsibilities, or they want to help their child reach their fullest potential and thrive.  Learn more here.

5. How do I know if my child needs support from a counselor/therapist or a life coach? Life coaches, counselors and therapists all focus on mental wellness. Uniquely, a counselor or therapist will focus on mental illness and helping children who are struggling to function in day-to-day life. There are many causes of mental illness such as trauma, chemical imbalance, abuse and neglect that require the help of a mental health professional. Child Life coaches help children develop mindset skills that support mental fitness and protect child mental health.

To see a list of early warning signs that someone may be struggling with their mental health, visit: https://www.mentalhealth.gov/basics/what-is-mental-health.  

6. How is coaching children different than coaching adults?  The distinction between life coaching for adults and life coaching for children is brain development.  Adults have much stronger critical thinking skills, greater life experience to draw upon, and the ability to make distinctions and draw conclusions more effectively than children.  Because a child’s brain is different, a child requires a stronger teaching component to learn these powerful mindset skill.  With a coach’s guidance, a child can learn how to apply the skills to their own lives.  A Child Life Coach is trained to find fun and engaging ways to work with children.