Life Coach for Kids – Is It Really That Crazy as It Sounds? | Podcast Ep. #12

You need a life coach for kids to make sure your children thrive in the competitive world of today.

Well, you can hope that they will figure everything out on their own.

But our life is getting more complicated and stressful each day.

There are a lot of unhealthy distractions and temptations for kids.

That’s why getting a life coach for kids is crucial.

You can listen to my podcast episode (or keep reading the companion article below):

My son helps me practice being a life coach for kids

I choose to be a life coach for my 10-year-old son Denis.

  1. I want to be sure that he has the support and guidance that he needs for proper development.
  2. I also want to take advantage of the fact that he is more susceptible to my influence because children tend to see parents as gods.
  3. And I also want to spend quality time with him.

Is it okay to sacrifice work for spending time with kids?

This is a difficult choice parents face today.

A few years ago, I read a blog post by a working mother who was a freelance translator.

She said this:

I appreciate working remotely because it allows me to spend more time with my kid, even though it means making less money.

It struck me how conscious her choice of priorities was.

I follow the same principle.

I’ve built my business in a way that allows working remotely and having a flexible schedule so that I can go on long stretches of quality time with my son.

I know I make less money because I spend less time with clients or building my brand but that’s my conscious choice.

Conscious choice to spend more time with kids rather than work

How do you find time to coach your kids?

My son lives in Russia whereas I live in Canada.

I do miss him a lot.

But I also feel this is a privilege in two ways.

#1: Distance makes us appreciate the relationship more.

When you live together with your children, you start taking the time with them for granted.

But in a situation like mine, you treasure each hour spent together.

When we visit each other, that’s like a never-ending party!

#2: I’m more disciplined about how I spend my time.

When I am away from my son, I know that I need to concentrate on my work.

Because when I go to see my son, I will concentrate on spending time with him and won’t have much time for work.

I’d rather spend 2 hours working today than watch a movie.

Saving these 2 hours for work means I can spend 2 more hours with my kid later.

I work harder and longer hours to earn uninterrupted quality time with my kid later.

Framing my work this way gives me additional motivation to dive headfirst into work.

Life coach for kids I work harder and longer hours to earn uninterrupted quality time with my kid later

Tip 1: Teach life skills by setting an example

Now, let me share practical tips that I learned by coaching Denis.

I don’t want to sit my son down and start teaching him life principles intensely.

Instead, I want to be an indirect influence.

I do this mostly by setting an example.

My first job as a life coach is to exude a positive influence on a client.

For instance, if you want to be more calm and relaxed, you need to work with a coach who has that vibe rather than someone very active and aggressive.

Say, I want to teach Denis to eat less sugar.

That’s what I’ll do:

  • I don’t beat him for eating candies.
  • No preaching that sugar is bad.
  • I don’t condemn people consuming a lot of sugar.
  • Instead, my main strategy is not to eat sugar myself.

Hopefully, this will help my kid make the right decision for himself.

Preaching doesn’t work well.

Especially as kids grow older because they feel resentful about it.

But setting an example works wonders because kids see their parents as gods and mirror them in almost everything.

Plus: being a life coach for kids motivates you to be a better version of yourself as well.

Tip 1 Teach life skills by setting an example

Tip 2: Teach your kids specific skills

My second job as a life coach is to give specific information that helps my clients improve.

For example, when a client has a food addiction, I work with them to build a daily ritual that helps break the addiction.

Likewise, you need to teach specific skills to your kids.

I teach skills like Microsoft Word or programming to Denis.

By doing so, I help him get a taste of different professions and discover his passion early.

Plus, I give him the ability to make good money instead of working low-level jobs that could lead him in a downward spiral.

For example, I had a client who didn’t develop any skills growing up.

So he went to work at a McDonalds’ in his late teens.

Because they gave a 50% discount to employees, he gained 50 pounds.

And he struggled with other life issues as well.

Tip 2 Teach your kids specific skills

Tip 3: Teach your kids sports

That’s a huge part of being a life coach for your children.

I’ve been teaching playing soccer to Denis for about two years.

And seeing him pretty much reach my level is very rewarding.

I see three benefits of sports for kids:

Benefit 1

I teach my son to be competitive.

I never give up when we play to set an example of persistence and discipline.

It breaks my heart when he cries or gets angry because of losing.

But I’m also happy because this means his competitiveness muscle has just got stronger.

Benefit 2

I encourage him to build a habit of working out.

By teaching him soccer or things like snowboarding or riding a bike, he is more likely to keep living a lifestyle like that in the future.

Benefit 3

We bond as we spend time playing sports.

I use this time to ask him questions and open him up to talk about things that matter to him.

I found it especially important to be engaged in sports rather than just cheer him up from a bench.

This is yet another opportunity for me to lead by example.

Life coach for kids Tip 3 Teach your kids sports

Tip 4: Read a motivational book together

I’ve been reading the autobiography of Arnold Schwarzenegger Total Recall with Denis recently.

I’m a big fan of this book because it teaches great principles through the story of an unbelievable man.

We read it out loud to each other: I do it about 80% of the time and he reads about 20%.

The book is thought-provoking.

Total Recall autobiography by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Every time we come across an important life principle, I discuss it with Denis.

Example: it’s not about how much money you make but how much money you keep.

I love how I can use Arnold’s story to explain this principle instead of teaching it directly.

It’s so engaging.

I also ask Denis a lot of questions to make him understand this principle.

I also pretend I am his friend and ask him to teach it to me.

Reading a book together has other benefits, too.

Benefit 1

Learning new words.

Benefit 3

Learning not to waste time.

I carry a book with me to read whenever we have a moment such as on the subway.

Benefit 3

Teaching kids to read before sleep.

This habit helps calm the mind.

Benefit 4

Encouraging kids to read more on their own.

One great result of reading together for me was when Denis asked me to buy him an English book.

He is a native speaker of Russian, and I knew that the book was too difficult for him.

But even those first 50 pages that he read were an achievement.

Tip 4 Read a motivational book together

If you decide to read Total Recall to your kid, be prepared to skilfully skip paragraphs where Arnold talks about sex or curses a lot. 🙂

My services as a life coach for kids

You can hire me as a life coach instead of coaching your children yourself.

Contact me for a free initial consultation here.

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