In many ways, I’m thrilled to put 2020 in my rear-view mirror. The awful Covid-19 pandemic. Also, this was the year my family moved to a new home. It’s a nice home, and that’s the good news. The bad news is that moving was a mentally and physically arduous process that lasted six months. But as of today, all the pictures are up on the walls, which means we’re mostly settled in.
For me, 2020 had more good news, some really awesome news. I published six books last year. It feels amazing to say so, and maybe it’s amazing for you to hear it. But I’ve been working on the content for these books for several years, and they happened to reach publication one after the other this past year. Here they are:
- Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills (co-author with Meredith Bell)
- Peer Coaching Made Simple: How to Do the 6 Things That Matter Most When Helping Someone Improve a Skill
- How Your Teen Can Grow a Smarter Brain: 7 Game-Changers That Will Maximize Your Teen’s Brainpower–Permanently (Second Edition). Originally published a few years ago, this is an expanded, updated version.
- Connect with Your Kid: Mastering the Top 10 Parent-Child Communication Skills
- Preparing Your Teen for Life: 50 Insights to Help Your Child Grow Up Happy, Successful and Independent
- Parents Coaching Parents: How Parents Can Help Each Other Improve Family Communication Skills.
Two of these books represent a huge opportunity for parents. The book, Connect with Your Kid, is your how-to guide for steadily improving the kind of communication skills you’ll need to deal with the inevitable difficult moments and to have those dozens of conversations you’ll need to pass on wisdom and coach your child towards maturity. The failure to communicate effectively ultimately is what pushes a child away, instead of growing the bond.
As you work on the way you communicate, which is an ongoing project, you’ll experience a lot more success if you have a coach. A good solution is to retain a professional parent coach. Another powerful solution is to partner with another parent in order to coach each other while both of you work on the skills. Moms coaching moms. Dads coaching dads. Moms and dads coaching each other. The support for these parent partnerships is the book, Parents Coaching Parents. You’ll be surprised how easy and natural it is to meet with another parent regularly to give the right kind of support and encouragement.
The huge opportunity: the impact you’ll have when you make the skills your default habits while partnering with another parent. The cost: two paperback books, plus the effort to practice the skills when you interact with your child.
You can grow the bond with your child through better listening. Download the FREE ebook, Listening to Understand. One more reason to move forward with renewed hope.