www.heartconnectionparenting.com

Location

Motueka, New Zealand

Languages

English

Coaching SpecialtieS INCLUDE:

About This coach

Just like you, I am a parent seeking love, connection, ease and fun within my family. I understand first-hand the frustration and suffering that we experience on our parenting journeys, and I know how it feels to be overwhelmed and discouraged in parenting. 

As a mother practicing and honing the art of parenthood, I endeavour to continually keep learning and improving. If you are also, you have come to the right place.

Am I the perfect parent? No. But I’ve learned many skills to ease the way in walking this path of conscious parenting. 

I enjoy sharing what I’ve learned along the route to satisfying parenting; which means personal growth for you as a parent, more connection for your family, and a lifetime of love and meaning. I’m committed to deep, compassionate listening, and I have a warm-hearted and intuitive ability to help parents move through parenting struggles toward growth and transformation. I love helping families create and cultivate the life and connections they dream of.

Qualifications and Experience

• In May, 2015 I completed the coaching training programme at the well-respected Jai Institute for Parenting, which certifies parenting coaches.
• I’ve completed invaluable personal and professional development courses in parenting and Compassionate Communication by John Cunningham, Ruth Beaglehole, Cynthia Aldinger, and others.
• I have been involved with the Tides rites of passage programme for teenage girls and their mothers since 2015, and serve as a facilitator and a mentor for a few events each year.
• For over 3 years, beginning in 2013, I coordinated and facilitated the parent/toddler playgroup at the Motueka Rudolf Steiner School, a Waldorf school on the South Island of New Zealand. Working with the playgroup families was the perfect way for me to interact with varied temperaments of children and parents, and to work with different dynamics and behaviours.
• Studying Marshall Rosenberg's Non-Violent Communication work gives me great inspiration, and I use his tools in my work as well as in my everyday living.
• At the very heart of my practice are my two children who motivate me to do this work, and who inspire me to share it with you. Over the past 18-plus years, I’ve made deliberate choices to create a stable, happy, and loving home life for our family. I’ve cultivated and practiced my skills in mindfulness and peaceful parenting through a variety of courses, workshops, and research, and in my daily life.
• I also hold a bachelor's degree in International Affairs from the University of Colorado.

My Parenting Story

In a way, my own memories from childhood led me to parent coaching. 

My parents divorced when I was 5 years old. As I was shuttled back and forth across town between my mom's house and my dad's house, I often thought about what life would be like when I grew up and had a family of my own. I vowed that I would do things differently. 

It’s those memories that made it a priority to give my children the warm and secure home life, and tight-knit family bonds that I longed for. 

Later, foreseeing a looming soul-sucking and harried two-income, two-parent ‘tag team’ future in Boulder, Colorado, my husband and I recognized the contrasting value that a slower pace of life would give us and our two small children. We were yearning for a change, to say the least. 

Wanting to craft a unique rhythm of life, we sought something different from the treadmill lives that threatened to become our default. In order to allow space for further evolution and personal growth, we deliberately re-designed our lives to increase time for family togetherness. 

So, in 2007 we moved halfway across the world to New Zealand with our two children, ages one and four years old. Easy? No. Complete paradigm shift? Definitely the foundations of one. The journey continues to unfold each day as we seek ways of living that nurture beauty, truth, goodness, reverence, and wonder in life.

I look forward to hearing from you, and learning about your own parenting journey so far. 

What Makes THEM Special?

Heart Connection Parenting's mission is to shift generational patterns of parenting to effect positive social change, so children can grow into adults who have empathy, confidence and emotional intelligence.

Do you find yourself parenting in the same way you were parented, carrying over patterns and automatic reactions that may or may not serve you and your children?

Have you tried reading parenting books only to still find yourself in a place of overwhelm and confusion in your parenting, unable to implement what you’ve read about? 

And what happens when we find ourselves in the dark? What about those times of frustration and conflict? And just where is that manual that we should have received upon our children's births?

Maybe nagging, threatening and punishing are effective in the short term, but how does it feel for both you and your child, and how does it unravel your relationship with your child, let alone impact on your child's brain development?

Surely there must be a more fulfilling and fun way.

An Alternative Approach To Parenting

The opportunity to change your family dynamics is not through modifying your children's behaviour. The way forward is to instead change our behaviour as adults, because we only really have control over ourselves. 

The approach I use is mindful parenting. It’s peaceful and harmonious, and it’s fun – because you’ll also learn to connect with your child through play. But it probably isn't the way you were raised, and it takes support and guidance to change a behaviour you’ve lived with throughout your life. That's where I come in. 

Book your free half-hour consultation now.

All Behaviour Is An Effort To Meet Needs

Essential to my perspective is that there are no 'bad' children, and everything they (or any human, for that matter) do is in an effort to get their needs met. In working with me, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of both your child's needs and your needs. This process supports you to build emotional intelligence for your child, and show them the way to confidence and self-esteem.

I can help you see the way to untangle your parenting knots, so you can be the guide and the light for your children to flourish.

Parents As Role Models

We parents are the heart of the home for our families. We’re the light that guides our children, and we’re their anchor. 

The safe and nourishing environment that we create and protect for our children allows them the optimal place to not only grow, learn, and flourish; it also provides the opportunity for a deep and secure attachment between parent and child. It’s our role to set the tone in our homes, and to be the most important example and role model. Our inner strength and qualities serve to teach and guide our children as we help them grow to adulthood. 

My coaching will support you in this essential task. It will help you to look after yourself, and to be as well-resourced and fortified as possible to carry out your parenting role. 

Your Opportunity For Change

This work is transformational for parents with children of any age.

It’s not therapy or counselling, but coaching that lets you discover the way forward in a process of transformation, and in a new direction. It’s about making changes that are do-able now, and planning the pathway to a new future for your family. By committing to one hour a week of coaching, you’ll be investing in yourself, and your family, and you’ll find that your accountability and follow-through increases.

This will change the trajectory of your children’s lives, and even the family legacy that’s passed down to future generations.

By Deliberately Crafting The Family Life You Desire, You’re Investing In The Future Of Your Family's Happiness

In making a commitment to yourself and your family to become aware of and re-set your default habits, you can make all the difference in your family's trajectory. The value you’ll receive outweighs the costs by far – you simply cannot put a price on family harmony and happiness.



When working with me you will:

• Free yourself from your emotional triggers, and alter and soothe your own stress responses.
• Deal with feelings as they arise instead of sweeping them under the rug until they explode later and become your master.
• Learn to model for your children the qualities you wish for them to embody.
• Develop an awareness of your default patterns, and regain the sanity for yourself and your family.
• Learn how to be in an emotionally connected relationship with your children instead of using your power to dominate them.
• Nurture a sense of mutual respect with your children and gain their natural cooperation.
• Learn how to reach your children through the language of play.
• Have more fun with your parenting!

I can help with your greatest parenting challenges – book your free half-hour consultation now.

Ready to start parenting with peace and connection?