“If only my child had come with an instruction manual!” That’s a thought that most parents have had at some point in their lives.

Nothing really prepares you to become a parent. Some of us were lucky enough to have parents that set a good example. But others grew up in homes where the dynamic between child and parent was anything but functional or consistently loving.

But the truth is, even if you did have loving parents that did right by you 24/7, you can never be fully prepared to handle sticky situations with your own children. You never really know what behavioral challenges your child may wind up struggling with, and how those will affect your other children and the family as a whole.

This is where parenting coaching comes in.

Coaching is a bit different from traditional psychotherapy or counseling in that its focus is more goal-directed. Whereas traditional therapy may have you spend weeks exploring past events to recognize how they have contributed to current moods and behaviors, parenting coaching helps you choose a goal (get my child to do their homework without a daily tantrum) and offers tried and true techniques to help get the outcomes you desire.