Ethics in Kids Life Coaching: Because Trust Is Everything

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 financial gain. They appeared to want to look under our hood and find out how our programmes work. Quizzing on prices. Numbers. Asking what I have changed over the years and why.

I provided all the answers. I have nothing to hide. Eventually they dropped the ball and got confused as to which organisation they were "fishing" from and that is when I realised that some people will go to any lengths to build their business. 

They will take.

They will copy.

They have no original thought. 

I can't help but think that this "curiosity" from a "competitor" came after a recent post I saw on LinkedIn about copy cats. The original post inspired me to speak up on social media about copy cats who have done my training and passed my work off as their own. So my guess is...they may have seen my post? Sent somebody to find out the what, where, why and how since so much has shifted in our work in this ever evolving field of coaching children. 

What they forget is this.

I've been coaching children long before it was trendy.

Back in 2003, I started using my proprietary Play Based Coaching System® to support children’s emotional, mental and social wellbeing. This was long before “children’s coaching” was even a thing. By 2009, I was approached to  train professionals to do the same. Not because I wanted to scale or brand myself, but because this work mattered. Deeply.

My work grew organically through word of mouth. Long before reels and social media were a showcase and window dressing for “work well done!” Long before you could use Chat GPT to generate programmes in a second. Long before the pandemic shifted deep and meaningful face to face relationships to superficial and shallow online ones. 

I’ve built my reputation and clients based on good old fashioned face to face relationships! Imagine that! I still personally get to know every single student that passes through our Kids Life Coach Certification programme. I take pride in being their biggest cheerleader as they cross the finish line to work with children ethically and sustainably.  

I believe that the pandemic was the actual turning point in the Kids Life Coaching space. Back then, there was a glaringly obvious gap in the market for children's mental wellbeing services. We had to change our methods and style of delivery along with expand our programmes on offer. All to meet the demands of the market and ensure that children got the best they deserved from the coaches my organisation trained. 

I’ve watched with growing sadness as opportunists have jumped on this bandwagon. Starting with a good heart. Wanting to make a difference but not doing it with an ethical foundation. Which is why I feel so proud having trained professionals globally to use my proprietary model and system and programme and templates under licence and with permission. Signing a code of ethics that guides all of us to maintain our standards with integrity. 

This work is personal to me. 

I train professionals who are serious about building a child-focused practice rooted in integrity, evidence, and real supervision. 

No shortcuts. 

No gimmicks. 

No copy cats. 

Just honest, deep, transformational work with children, through play, relationship, and trust.

If you're someone who wants to set up your own ethical, impactful business helping children and you care more about quality than quick wins from copy cats….

I’d love to hear from you.

No hype. 

No false promises.

Just a proven, heart-led approach that works — and has done for over 20 years.

You can’t copy that. So those of you who keep setting up appointments to find out what we are doing and how we are doing it. Thank you. Copying is the highest form of flattery. But know this. When it comes to children you should be walking the walk and talking the talk. Ethics in kids life coaching is not a nice to have. It is a necessity BECAUSE TRUST IS EVERYTHING. 

Wishing you a safe journey as you build the coaching business of your dreams. Just know that how you start is how you will finish. Children deserve only the best from you so be the role model they need.