Since 2003, I’ve used play as the heart of my work with children but I have always called myself a Kids Life Coach. Over time, as I trained thousands of professionals around the world to use my Play Based Coaching System®, I realised that my work goes beyond children alone. As a global network, we support families, educators, and communities.

At Kids Life Studio®,  what we’ve always done is deeper than a title. Our Play Based Coaching System® is science-backed, ethically grounded, and rooted in empathy. Now, in a world that’s always changing, it’s time to be intentional with our language. Not because our work has changed but because it’s time to call it what it truly is:  We are Play Based Coaches and we play for a living! Something I have always said and still subscribe too!

This August, as our global network of Kids Life Studio® Coaches continue to pioneer the play based coaching movement, I want to honour three important days and give you some robust, easy-to-implement ideas to c...

For over two decades, I have been driven by a powerful vision to rebrand childhood®. To transform how we understand, support, and empower children in a world that often misunderstands their potential. My journey into kids life coaching wasn’t accidental. It was born from a deeply personal place. I couldn’t have children of my own, so I became the “secret parent” to countless children whose lives I have been privileged to touch. This unique role has fuelled my passion to nurture, guide, and empower children as if they are my own.

With a Masters Degree in Clinical Child Psychology, I have seen how damaging labels, diagnoses, and limitations can be. I believe in the power of celebrating each child's unique gifts and possibilities. As a former special needs teacher and school counsellor, I have seen first hand what happens when childhood is defined by what children can’t do rather than their strengths.  Early in my work, I met children labeled with ADHD and other challenges, many of whom ...

When we think about “winning,” our minds often jump to trophies, medals, or big achievements. But in the world of kids life coaching, winning looks very different. It’s not about being first or perfect, it’s about growth, confidence, and feeling empowered to lead one’s own life.

Here’s the truth: the secret to winning isn’t some complex formula. It’s actually easier than you might think. It starts with small, consistent actions both from us as coaches and from the children we guide.

Here are 10 tips for coaching children towards their own winning:

1. Celebrate Every Step Forward
No win is too small. Celebrate each effort and progress, so children feel encouraged and motivated to keep going. It's not only about the win, but about the progress whilst reaching that win. 

2. Encourage a Growth Mindset
Help kids understand that abilities can improve with practice. Remind them that challenges are opportunities to learn and grow. Mindset is everything! 

3. Normalise Mistakes
Create a space ...

Growing up in South Africa, the name Nelson Mandela is more than history, it’s a living legacy. Mandela wasn’t just a leader; he was a beacon of hope, resilience, and unity during a time when division threatened to tear a nation apart. His belief in *Ubuntu* a philosophy that roughly translates to “I am because we are”has deeply shaped how I approach coaching children today.

Now living in England, I carry that spirit with me every day through my work at Kids Life Studio®. Ubuntu isn’t just a word; it’s a way of being that reminds us all of our interconnectedness, our shared humanity, and the power of community.

When we coach children, especially in today’s fast-paced and often fragmented world, embedding Ubuntu into our practice is essential. Children are not victims of their present circumstances; they are victors of their future. They have the strength, resilience, and potential to lead their own lives if we provide them with the right tools and environment.

Ubuntu teaches us that...

When we coach children, one of the biggest hopes we carry is that they’ll learn to lead their own lives with confidence, courage, and clarity. We want them to grow into young people who know who they are, what they believe, and how to stand tall when the world feels uncertain.

I believe there’s one thing we sometimes forget:  Children can only rise into that kind of leadership when we’re showing them how. Not through perfect lessons or clever coaching tools, but through who we are and how we show up, especially on the hard days. That’s something I’ve been reflecting on deeply lately

Children Learn to Lead by Watching Us Lead Ourselves

When a child walks into your coaching session, they don’t just listen to your words. They *feel* your energy. They observe how you handle stress, how you respond to feedback, how you treat yourself when things don’t go to plan.

That’s leadership.

It’s not about being the adult who’s always got it together. It’s about being the adult and coach who’s w...

July always feels like a turning point. It sits at the midpoint of the year a chance to pause, reflect, and recalibrate. In the world of Play Based Coaching®, it’s also a perfect month to harness the power of meaning through play.

Too often, coaching can become overly fixated on goals and outcomes but real change in children comes when we speak to what matters right now. That’s why celebration and commemoration days aren’t just dates on a calendar but they are also anchors for connection. When used with care and creativity, they open up symbolic spaces to explore feelings, values, relationships, and resilience.

So how can we use July’s global days as springboards for coaching that sticks?

🌍 World Population Day (July 11) — “You belong to the world”

In a world that’s increasingly fragmented, World Population Day invites us to help children understand their place in something bigger. This isn’t about statistics. It’s about belonging.

In a coaching session, this might look like:

* C...

Why is it that people have to be dishonest? I have been running my business long enough to know that I would never have reached my current milestones without having the privilege of standing on the shoulders of giants. I have learnt from other leaders in the field of motivation but I have never stolen from them, not credited them, nor have I passed their work off as my own. I take great pride in having reached my professional and personal goals through sheer determination and grit but never once did it cross my mind to be devious or underhanded to get ahead. 

Yet, again last week I found myself sitting in a meeting with somebody from a "competitor" organisation - something they did not disclose to me in advance. It was supposed to be a regular strategy call to find out if they were a good fit to work with Kids Life Studio®. Yet, all the person did was fish for clues. Ask strategic questions that showed no commitment to children but only a commitment to their partner organisations fina...

Today, South Africa marks Youth Day, a powerful moment of reflection and remembrance. On June 16, 1976, thousands of schoolchildren in Soweto marched against the apartheid regime’s attempt to force Afrikaans as the language of instruction in Black schools. Their protest was met with police brutality. Many were killed. Thousands were injured and a generation was traumatised.

That day became a turning point in South Africa’s history. And though I now live in England, and at the time was only two years old and living in South Africa—the legacy of 1976 still lives within me.

A Legacy I Inherited, and a Responsibility I Carry

I want to be clear: I am a white South African. My ability to live freely, to be educated, and now to do the work I do as a kids life coach was never under the kind of threat like those children from the Soweto Uprising faced. I didn’t grow up with the weight of systemic oppression on my shoulders the way they did. In fact, I benefited from the very structures they ...

In the world of child development and coaching, we often focus on structure, outcomes, and measurable progress. While those things matter, there’s a powerful tool many professionals who don't understand the neuroscience overlook...and that is play. Not just as a way to pass time, but as a core vehicle for transformation.

As life coaches, educators, and therapists who work with kids, we know that real growth doesn’t always look like goal charts and checklists. Sometimes, it looks like a spontaneous story, a messy art project, or a game that doesn’t have a winner. As we approach International Day of Play on June 11, it’s time to reframe our thinking: what if play isn’t a break from the work we do with children—what if it is the work?

This is the heart of my Play Based Coaching System®, my proprietary framework designed to help children grow emotionally, socially, and mentally through intentional, structured play. Built on years of hands-on experience in the classroom as a special needs...

Running low on ideas? Let June's Global Days inspire powerful coaching sessions with your clients!

As Play Based Coaches, we know that play is not a break from learning. It’s how children learn best but even the most experienced coaches can hit a creative wall.

This June, the world is observing several powerful international days that bring awareness to issues affecting children and their wellbeing. These commemorations are not just dates on a calendar but they’re entry points for your coaching conversations, building emotional literacy, enhancing critical thinking, and inspiring personal growth in the children you coach.

Take the opportunity to turn each global day into a meaningful, playful, and skills-based session with the children you support:

🕊️ June 4 – International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression

Themes: Safety, voice, and emotional healing
Activity: “Safe Spaces Mapping”
Ideas: Use drawing or storytelling to help children map their personal “safe zones”. Eit...