Or the secrets to engaging with children and families

'Professionals' come in all shapes and sizes, be they teachers, social workers, home/school/community co-ordinators, youth workers, parenting practitioners, clergy etc, they would all like to engage better with their children and families.

You’ve worked hard and enjoyed the empathy; rapport and trust you’ve created and perhaps you need a little help in moving them to the next stage. This is where coaching comes in; coaching skills empower those you work with to take responsibility for the changes they want in their lives. However, you may find that when they aren't paying for your service it is more challenging to hold them accountable for keeping up their commitment and motivation.

This is where Develop Your Child has been operating in the last 8 years, perfecting and honing a range of advanced coaching and emotional literacy techniques to successfully empower all sorts of people including teenage parents, disaffected children and hard to reach families. That is not to say we don’t have some drop out, but what we do have is a huge number of children and adults creating their own transformations within their lives. Taking responsibility for themselves, making better life choices, changing family relationships and Mum’s finding their voice.

Read an independent evaluation of our unique approach here. Or some case studies from our Parent Champion programme here.

A young Mum recently wrote "You helped to change my life for the better, the future is open to anything I want to do. Before I did the course I had no dreams for the future but now I can see a brighter future and better life for me and my family" Sherry, parent, Maidstone.

Coaching takes over where counselling stops. Coaching is focused on the future and not the past. Coaches recognise their clients’ potential and call forth their power, rather than concentrating on something to fix. Coaches support the individual's ability to find the answer within by asking powerful, creative questions. Then the magic - creating a success strategy with sustainability built in.

We start by helping them see they are not failures and doomed to a second rate existence, they go on to appreciate that they can manage their feelings, emotions and behaviour, then life starts to open up for them.

Our core curriculum includes:
1) Use of the Power of Thought – how our thoughts, feelings and emotions affect us
2) Understand how we can manage our behaviour and create our own reality
3) Practice success breeds success
4) Differentiate between influence verses control and choice verses responsibility
5) Practice Levels of Listening, how we can trust our instincts/intuition etc
6) Create SMART (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Tangible/Timed) goals
7) Create a sustainability strategy

There are millions of people who support children and families both in the public and private sector. Every single one of you can easily learn these leading edge techniques, and become so much more effective in your role.

You’ve already done the hard part in creating your unique relationship, now is the time to take the next step.

Our unique approach, based on advanced coaching and emotional literacy techniques allows our clients to trust their instincts. Dr Tanya Byron, leading clinical psychologist, recently said “I'm not doing any more parenting programmes as a clinician at all. I think it's important that parents find their own way with their children that advice is helpful, but you need to trust your own instincts… a lot of parents come to me feeling completely disempowered, because there's a lot of advice and they don't know what to use.”

Join us for a full day’s workshop and experience our approach, you might even find out something about yourself! Only £85 per person includes a workbook and all materials. Places are limited to 8 to ensure your personal progression, contact for details of the next workshops. The more open minded you are the more you will take away. Or a one to one personalised Coach Training day only £150, date to suit you buy now.

"When you look at the world through the eyes of children you begin to appreciate the challenges they face and gain an empathy that will enable you to listen to them and engage better." Alan's work is precisely about this and much more....it challenges us as parents and teachers to reflect on our practices and refocus our attention on the enduring needs of our children. Johannes Maronda, 50-50 Tutor, Nacro, Chatham.

"A very informative and interesting approach to affirm positive thinking and encouragement in the home, the work place or whenever dealing with youngsters generally." Pamela Cuerden, Trustee, Healthy Living Centre, Park Wood, Maidstone.

Our family coaching work has been featured in the December issue of British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, CCYP Journal, here.