How our ‘Parent As Coach’ Course is Transforming Families

Becoming a parent is one of life’s most transformative roles, yet unlike driving a car or performing a job, it doesn’t come with formal training. Erickson Coaching International’s ‘Parent As Coach’ course is designed to help fill that gap by empowering parents with coaching tools and techniques that can transform how they relate to their children.

Led by experienced coaches and Erickson facilitators, Miglena Doneva-Doncheff  and Pavlina Eneva,  who are also parents themselves, the course guides participants to build stronger, more connected relationships with their children, while also fostering essential life skills like emotional resilience, creativity, and independence.

What parents can learn from coaching 

True to Erickson’s solution-focused coaching approach, rather than emphasizing what’s wrong - something many of us were raised with - parents will learn how to redirect their focus toward what’s possible and what’s working, and how to build on their children’s strengths so that they can reach their full potential.

Parents are introduced to what Miglena calls the “superpowers of coaches”:

• Active listening: Hearing beyond the words to truly understand your child.
• Asking powerful questions: Encouraging your child to think, reflect, and find their own solutions.
• Storytelling and perspective-taking: Using narrative to teach, connect, and inspire.
• Neutral observation: Learning to step back and see situations with clarity and without judgment.
  

The result is a shift in mindset: from controlling or correcting children to guiding and empowering them. As Pavlina explains, “We support parents to become the ones who will empower their kids to become who they want to be - not who their parents think they should be.”

The benefits for children 

Children raised in an environment informed by coaching principles develop critical soft skills that are increasingly vital in today’s fast-changing world. These include:

• Emotional intelligence and empathy
• Resilience and adaptability
• Effective communication
• Creativity and independent thinking
  

The parent struggle addressed 

Every parent struggles with something - whether it’s how to connect with their teenager, how to manage tantrums, or how to discipline without damaging trust.

The Parent As Coach course addresses these challenges by:

• Creating space for self-reflection: Who am I as a parent? Who do I want to be? How can I empower my children?
• Teaching age-appropriate communication: From toddlers to teens, the course explores how to adapt your approach as your child grows.
• Emphasizing emotional regulation: Helping parents pause and respond with intention rather than react from emotion.
• Fostering trust-based relationships: Especially important during the teenage years, when children begin to distance themselves in search of autonomy.
  

A framework built around Four Key Areas of Safety

The course is structured around Four Key Areas of Safety that match your child’s developmental areas. These provide a holistic framework for raising resilient, creative, and well-rounded children.

Physical safety (especially important with young children)

• Creating a secure, nurturing physical environment.
• Teaching body awareness, physical boundaries, and health.
• Encouraging play and physical engagement that builds resilience.

Emotional-Relational Safety

• Helping children recognize and regulate their emotions.
• Developing empathy and emotional intelligence, and help them connect with others.
• Building trust and modeling open, respectful communication.
  

• Encouraging children’s projects and problem-solving.
• Nurturing imagination and self-expression through storytelling and play.
• Asking powerful questions that prompt independent thinking, visualization and reflection.
  

DID YOU KNOW? Young children whose parents read them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to….Even kids who are read only one book a day will hear about 290,000 more words by age 5 than those who don't regularly read books with a parent or caregiver. - Science Daily

Meaningful safety

• Developing a sense of belonging, purpose, and shared family values.
• Supporting children to understand legacy and their role in a larger system and as part of a community.
• Emphasizing long-term meaning over short-term achievement.
  

Together, these quadrants help parents create a safe, stimulating, and meaningful environment where children can thrive emotionally, intellectually, and socially.

Why it matters more than ever in today's world

In a world increasingly dominated by technology, social isolation, and constant change, many parents feel overwhelmed and uncertain about how to support their children. An increasing amount of research is surfacing showing that children today often lack empathy, struggle with conflict resolution, and spend more time on screens than in conversation.

The Parent As Coach course offers parents a practical, grounded, and hopeful alternative. It doesn’t promise perfection, but it does equip parents with tools to navigate challenges, build lasting trust, and break the cycle of inherited parenting patterns that no longer serve.

A gift for future generations

Ultimately, the course is about legacy. As Miglena explains, “Our kids don’t do what we say - they do what we do. They model us. And if we can model awareness, empathy, and resilience, that’s the gift we leave them.”

It’s a gift that extends beyond individual families, helping to shape more compassionate communities and more capable future leaders.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT OUR UPCOMING IN-PERSON ‘PARENT AS COACH’ COURSE?

Attend our upcoming (free) Parent As Coach webinar with Miglena and Pavlina on 14 August 2025 at 8am PDT. It promises to be a mix of practical insights, teachings, tips and explanations around how the coach approach to parenting can benefit families.