Life and business coach Glenn Irvine has received funding to move his ‘Parent as Coach’ workshop online, where he will share coaching tools to assist parents in identifying and improving the ways they communicate with their children.
He said coaching skills would be useful for parents or guardians struggling to comprehend their changing role in the home due to COVID-19.
“We’re trying to be teachers, but we’re not teachers,” he said.
“Coaching is the best way of getting information out of a young person, by helping them understand what they want, actions they need to come up with, and how to problem solve.
“Because of the isolation situation we’re in, we’ve got a great opportunity to engage our kids.”
He said all participants could join a closed Facebook group afterwards, where they could continue to receive free guidance and advice.
The single father of four is an accredited life and business coach, and has been running sessions for teenagers in schools throughout the region for 15 years.
He hopes his classes will give parents and guardians the skills to find new ways to connect with their kids through COVID-19 isolation, and beyond.
“I hope they feel more confident to engage their young person,” he said.
“Because of technology, it’s harder now than ever to engage a young person because they’re focused on their devices.
“To get them to communicate better is the key goal.”
The workshop will be run as a two-part session on Wednesday, April 29 and Wednesday, May 6, starting at 7:30 pm.
He said while the upcoming workshops would be capped at 20 participants, he would be offering free sessions in the future to cater to demand.
To register, visit www.glennirvine.com.au/parent-as-coach