Working parents and a “family coach”
Life coaching is all the rage these days, but, I had no idea there was such a thing as a “family coach”.
Once again, assuming it’s working parents can’t “get it together”, the Career Journal follows a working mother’s plea for family help from professionals:
“My house was falling apart,” says Ms. Ryan, Dallas, an accountant and mother of four children, ages 7 through 17. The family was losing keys, school papers and uniforms in the clutter. The kids’ schedules were so chaotic that “I was always yelling, ‘Hurry, hurry, hurry!’ ” Ms. Ryan says. The mess, her husband, Derek, acknowledges, was frustrating him, too. So Ms. Ryan did what any modern consumer would:
She called a coach.
Other than the fact that I can’t figure out why it’s solely the mother’s job to do something about it, that story sounds like the typical hustle and bustle of a home with kids.
Sure people could use advice about how to get organized and slow down, but, is it really necessary to pay someone for tips you can find on the Internet or from friends?
Would you pay someone to give you advice on how to manage your family?
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I have a family coach- my mother-in-law! She is always full of family advice. Why buy the milk when you can get the cow for free?
I’m not the kind of girl to ever say never, but a life coach is just not for me! Life is all about making it your own. Our home is just as chaotic at times, but we always find a way to get back to the calmness of things. It just takes time and a ton of patience!
I wouldn’t pay someone to tell me how to manage my family. I might pay someone to clean my house but not tell me how to live my life with my family
I probably wouldn’t pay anyone to clean my house either now that I have given it just a little more thought.
I’m not sure a family coach is what we need here, but there are certainly times when a neutral party’s insight would be useful.
I would have to really really need some serious help and have exhausted all resources first. : )
A family coach? No. A referee? Definitely.
I’d rather just go to the library and gets books on it…OR go to older friends whom I think did well raising their kids. So no, no paying a family coach for us. :0)
I really liked Lindley’s comment above, very amusing, but there seems to be some confusion about how coaching works. A good coach would never dream of telling you what to do, a coach believes that everyone has the resources within them to achieve anything they wish, and through skillful questioning will uncover those resources to solve the problem., both now and in the future. Furthermore, coaching introduces a level of accountability which holds the client responsible for doing the things they have said they will do (not the things the coach has asked them to do – the coach only works with the client’s agenda in mind). Coaching is a powerful way to achieve what seems unachievable in any area of your life.
I don’t think I pay. There are plenty of friends and family members who could give me good advice.
As a “Dad” coach, this is really really interesting for me. I’ve paid coaches to help me with business and with eliminating blockages in my personal health and goalsetting. Like Lace above, I wouldn’t pay someone to tell me what to do either. I actually look for coaches who bring out my best and make suggestions I can take or leave.
But MOTHER-IN-LAW as coach? [shudder!]
Oddly, I got pitched through my blog recently from a “mom coach.” At first, I laughed, but then as I read further, I was kinda like, hmmm this makes sense! Not that I’ll pay for it or anything.
I find the best advice I get is from Family and friends. I don’t think I would ever pay anyone to give me advice. Friends and family know you personally and are able to give you the best advice I feel.
Ah, there’s someone willing to pay for anything. It’s just the next step. There are housecleaners, those places where you can make and take a month’s worth of food, food delivery, personal chefs, and yes, a family coach.
I don’t know that I’d do the family coach thing, but if I could afford it I’d totally hire a professional organizer.
Oh lord. Paying for someone to tell me how inept I already know I am? Seriously? I like the referee comment above–I’d take that in a heartbeat. Or honestly, someone to come in and find a home for everything that can be easily retrieved when needed (and put back again). That’s what I’d take.
The family coach idea sounds like a bad reality show.
I would rather pay a housekeeper. We have one that comes once a week and it really helps us keep on top of things.