Youth Coaching

There is a great variation among teenagers regarding how they will respond to this difficult time. While some may express their feelings and show anger others may suppress the frustration and keep their thoughts for themselves developing a significant change in behavior and may stonewall from others.
It is very important that your child feels your support during this hard time. However, they might not feel the confidence or comfort to open up and discuss their issues with you. It is very common that teenagers don’t like to discuss their personal lives and is also understandable that as a parent, this could be very stressful.

Approaching a professional whom you trust would listen empathically to your loved one, understand the struggles and provide guidance is advisable at this critical time.

Youth Life Coaching can help your child better understand the emotions they are experiencing during this time of chaos and how to manage them. When your child is reacting aggressively, they may be battling many negative feelings. Youth coaching helps kids better understand and control their confused emotions, developing a smooth parent-child relationship.

Youth Life coaching can help young people develop new skills and learn how to manage their stress. Since every kid is a masterpiece, there is no one size fits all program. Through understanding each child’s unique capabilities and dreams along with studying their available resources Youth Coaching could help them utilize these resources and capitalize on them to reach their goals.

Youth Life coaching works with them to identify their needs and share their frustrations. It will act as their support system during the journey towards their future. Some may just need a helping hand and a trustworthy partner, while others may need guidance in the right direction.

A life coach can help teenagers through this hard and confusing period of their lives on many aspects using some powerful and effective tools. A Youth coach could help with the following:

1-Seeing self-worth and working on self-esteem:

2-Getting clarity about passions and what really gets them ignited and fulfilled

3-Setting goals and taking actions

4-Getting them motivated and more productive

5-Anger management

6-Anxiety issues

7-Commitment and achievement

8-Better communication, social skills, and building confidence

9-Peers pressure

10-Opening up about critical issues as relationships and bullying

Each coach has a different approach and a blueprint of his own yet, there are still some common coaching techniques that ensure the success of the journey:

One on One meetings:

The coach gets to meet the kid in person using powerful well-phrased questions designed to help the kid open up to be able to get information about the main issues. Digging deeper and considering the kid’s body language and personal responses will give the coach more clarity about where the effort needs to be directed. That is where all the enlightenment begins for both the coach and the coachee.

Assignments and Journaling:

Writing is a very powerful approach that gives clarity about the emotions, the fears, and the struggles. “Writing calms the wind and clears the seas.” It helps the kid get clear about what is getting him frustrated, what are his dreams and goals and gives the coach clarity about how the kid is seeing himself.

Accountabilities:

Transformations take place in between the sessions when the kid gets to have time alone to resonate with what was said during his meeting with the coach and where he needs to be looking. Practicing tools the coach provided and thinking about perspectives that are different from where he usually looked. It’s is very helpful to have an accountability partner he might trust who is aligned with the short term goals and can point out progress.

It’s not common that a kid refuses to seek help or see a coach. Kids at this age prefer to stonewall when faced about their struggles claiming they are fine for the reason of holding some worries about seeing a coach. Your kid may feel some anxiety having to open up to a total stranger about his personal issues. He may have negative expectations about the whole process in terms of being judged by the coach. He may also worry about confidentiality. Kids at this age like to have their own privacy and resist sharing their issues especially with a parent so he might be worried about the coach disclosing some information about him he is not willing to share with his parents.

What could a parent do to help?

1. Calm you Kids fears

Try to examine your kid’s fears and concerns about seeing a coach whether it’s talking to a stranger or having his confidential issues disclosed by the coach. Get him to meet the coach first before working with him. Get yourself clear about his expectations and preferences about the coach.

2. Set an example

Consider seeing a coach yourself or even as a family. Taking the lead will calm your kid’s fears and not feel different from the rest of his family.

3.Set a preliminary meeting with the coach

It’s advisable to have a  meeting with the coach prior to starting with your kid’s sessions. You will get the chance for a pre-screening and set the foundation based on your kid’s needs and expectations.

4. Choose the right timing

When bringing up the subject of seeing a coach with your kid you need to consider the right timing for introducing that where he is open for discussions so that the matter doesn’t get him triggered and lead to great rejection from his side.

Teenage years are critical and confusing for you as a parent as much as your teen. Your innocent child is all grown up, so eager to explore the world and experience all that it has to offer and all the changes on their own. This is the period where your teen prefers to have a secret part of his life that is not to be shared with his parents. Keeping a distance and watching is a very challenging role for the parent, so here is where a trustworthy coach would help as follows:

1. A coach can ensure a better relationship with your child through helping them with better understanding the changes that are taking place during that period and the emotions accompanying them. They may help with all the confusion leading to fear and worry and resulting in anger and aggressive reactions.

2. A coach can help your teen develop better ways for managing conflicts, frustrations, anger and addressing needs.

3. Having a trustworthy professional in your kid’s life to whom he confides and opens up about matters that he would never be at ease to disclose with you as a parent is a great benefit where you rest assured they have someone to talk to who will provide valuable guidance.

Some issues are outside the scope of coaching and require medical help :

While coaching is about guidance and support with the present to assist the client move towards achieving aimed future goals, success and fulfillment as well as managing challenging and transition phases of life in a better manner some cases may indicate the need for something beyond coaching.

The coach may consider making a referral in case:

• The Kid is not functioning with their normal daily activities in terms of personal, academical or social
• The parent is witnessing a behavioral pattern that is not usual for their kid or any new symptom
• The kid has a repeated negative thought pattern as suicidal thoughts
• The kid is developing any destructive behavior to self or others that is totally out of control

In such cases, the parent should consider medical help.