Sarah Hamaker

“Coaching is an empowerment way of being in the world,” Elaine says. “Coaching is about helping people see what they want and what they need to achieve. … When we invite parents to take a coach approach, we see our kids as independent beings and we want to empower them.”

“Children are unaccustomed to just taking the toys that they have, sitting down and playing with them,” Janet says. “This is about the only time in their life when they have the freedom day-after-day to let their imagination run wild.”

“We think our kids should know how to handle emotions but they don’t” said Dr. J. “The bonding phase is very important so that our kids can get a sense of security. They are learning from parents their cues for everything. If they don’t get that critical bonding, then everything else is hard.”

“Right now, our society is pushing boys more toward some of these entrepreneurial aspects than girls,” Brian says. “Part of it is making sure girls have role models so they can see examples of women and girls doing great things.”

“A child’s hope index score is a better predicator to if they’ll be successful in life, in college, in their career, than their SAT score,” Kristina says. “Giving our children the ability to have hope and putting hope into practice in our families isn’t something that will get us through coronavirus—it will get us through life.”

“We cannot outsource our theology to the youth leader,” Derwin says. “Our children learn theology over the dinner table, how we handle our finances, how we argue, how we spend money. Discipleship is not only taught—it’s also caught.”

The teenage years don’t have to be feared. Instead, parents should embrace the opportunity to move into a mentor relationship with their teens. On this podcast, I discuss smoking, disrespect and preparing your teen for college.

“If you’re a strong parent in certain times, then chances are, you’ll be a pretty strong parent in uncertain times,” Sharon says. “Children look at adults differently than adults look at children.”

“You know what they say: If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy. When you’re got things on your mind that you’re trying to process, it overshadows the other things that you want or need to do,” Kaye says. “Talking through those things as a family can make a difference.”

“Because of the changes in society right now compared to when I was a kid, I think parents are not realizing so many expectations are actually leading to an increase in mental illness or mental disorder in children and teenagers,” Tracey said. “There’s been a significant uptick in mental illness diagnoses in children and teenagers. Some of the risk factors for someone developing mental disorders include generic, in-utero environment and external environment of the child.”