Anxiety can manifest in many ways in children, and one area we see often when coaching children is the need to be in control. This need for control often stems from a child's desire to create predictability and security in their world, especially when they are feeling anxious or uncertain. Like the 6 year old I coached who had just acquired a new baby brother or the 11 year old who had just lost her mother to Cancer. 

Why are these children like this?

Children who experience anxiety no matter where that stems from, often feel overwhelmed by their emotions. They may struggle to understand why they feel the way they do, leading to a heightened need for control as a means to manage their anxiety. By controlling their environment, they aim to prevent or manage situations that may trigger their anxiety.

Here are some tips for Kids Life Coaches to support these children:

1. Create a Safe Space: Ensure the child feels safe and secure in their environment. This can help reduce their anxiet...

Every year on April 18th, we celebrate World Heritage Day—a day dedicated to recognising the importance of preserving our world’s cultural and natural heritage. UNESCO established this day to raise awareness about the value of our shared history and the need to protect the monuments, traditions, and environments that shape our identities. But what does this have to do with coaching children to live meaningful lives and is heritage that important? 

Connecting Children to the Past, Present, and Future

As Kids Life Coaches, educators, or mentors, we play an integral role in shaping the futures of children. One powerful way to guide them toward living meaningful lives is by teaching them the significance of cultural heritage. Understanding the past helps children make sense of the present and gives them the tools to contribute to the future. By celebrating World Heritage Day, we create opportunities to teach kids about the diverse cultures, history, and environments that have shaped the ...

I have always believed that every child has the potential to shine, regardless of their challenges. Children who have been born with disabilities face unique obstacles, but with the right mindset, I have seen how they can harness their strengths, build resilience, and embrace their own unique potential.

At Kids Life Studio®, we believe in coaching children to develop a positive, growth-oriented mindset that helps them overcome difficulties with courage and confidence. To us it doesn't matter what a child is facing, we look for the strengths and the inherent glimmers that make these amazing kids shine!

As a former Special Needs teacher, I have seen first hand how a child who faces a disability, may encounter societal stereotypes, self-doubt, and sometimes a feeling of being “less than.” In my classroom, I nurtured a positive mindset which has extended into my coaching practice over the past two decades. It is about supporting children to understand that their disabilities don’t define...

April 2nd is a significant day for me. It's my birthday and also World Autism Day. This is an awareness day dedicated to showcasing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) globally. Over the years, I've realized that my purpose might be deeply connected to this cause. 

My journey towards understanding Autism more intricately took a significant turn when, at the age of 45, I decided to return to university in Cambridge where I pursued a Master's degree in Clinical Child Psychology. I had the opportunity to dig into the iintricate world of neurodevelopmental disorders. This experience gave me a profound understanding of the complexities and nuances of a conditions like Autism and I now fully understand the Diagnostic Criteria and assessments for this label. 

This knowledge has been invaluable in my role as a Kids Life Coach because it has allowed me to tailor my Play Based coaching programmes to meet the unique needs like children with Autism. As a global collective of Kids Life Coaches, we str...

In today’s fast-paced world, children face a range of challenges that can impact their mental, emotional, and social well-being. From school pressures to family dynamics to technology addiction, the demands placed on young minds can feel overwhelming. Many children benefit from therapy, but in many countries, long waiting lists mean that access to these vital services is delayed, leaving children without the guidance and support they need. This is where Kids Life Coaching steps in, offering a much-needed support system and filling the gap while children wait for clinical referrals.

I have always said that Kids Life Coaching isn’t a replacement for therapy but instead serves as a complementary service that supports children in a safe and nurturing environment. Life coaches focus on empowering children to build essential skills such as emotional regulation, self-confidence, problem-solving, and resilience. The approach is not about diagnosing or treating mental health conditions; rather...

I have been a Kids Life Coach, for over two decades and during this time, I have worked alone...and I have worked with a global network of coaches who have certified in using my Play Based Coaching System®. So, I know first hand what the difference is. First and foremost, if you are reading this and you are not part of our professional membership, my guess is that your work can at times be isolating. When you’re working solo, it’s easy to fall into a rhythm, with the same approaches and perspectives that you’ve grown comfortable with. For me, I saw how this easily led to what I like to call “tunnel vision”—a limited view of the possibilities and strategies that could be used to better serve the children you work with.

This is where being part of a professional membership of Kids Life Coaches across the world becomes invaluable. It’s not just about networking but it’s about expanding your own vision and gaining fresh insights that can transform your coaching practice. Peer-to-peer netw...

As a certified Kids Life Coach, your primary focus is to empower and support children through their unique challenges and help them develop essential life skills. Whether you work with neurotypical or neurodiverse children, your role is incredibly important, and maintaining a professional and ethical approach is essential for success—both for your clients and your business. One of the best ways to ensure this is by regularly conducting an ethics and admin audit and using coaching contracts. This is something our Level 3 Kids Life Coach Certification and our Level 4 Advanced Kids Life Coach Certification covers extensively. 

So let us spend some time now looking at why it is important to stay ethical ion your coaching business and why having systems in place is so critical. First of all let us be clear here. An ethics and admin audit isn’t just a routine check-up—it's a crucial process to ensure your coaching business is running smoothly, ethically, and in compliance with the necessary...

As a professional who works with children, I have always believed it is essential for me to understand the hormonal shifts pre-teens go through and how these changes impact their emotional and social development. Which is why part of our Kids Life Coach Certification  training looks at developmental stages. The pre-teen phase is often quite tricky because it is filled with mood swings and self-doubt.  The early stages of puberty, can be a confusing and challenging time for kids—and for the adults supporting them. Especially the parents, who often ask me for advice on how to deal with their moody kids who seem to change in personality overnight! LOL...I'm not a parent...but that can't be easy!

I always tell them that pre-teens, typically around the ages of 9 to 12, experience hormonal changes that can significantly affect their emotions, self-esteem, and relationships with their family and friends. I also reassure them that as a life coach for children, I understand these changes from ...

Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) is a behaviour profile seen in some children, characterised by an extreme avoidance of everyday demands and expectations. This condition, first identified by child psychologist Elizabeth Newson in the 1980s, is now recognised as part of the autism spectrum by many professionals, though it is not yet officially classified as such in diagnostic manuals. 

So when a child diagnosed with PDA became one of my clients, I learnt first hand how my play based coaching methods proved to be very effective for this "label". As a general rule, one of the first things I teach my Kids Life Coach Certification students is that as coaches we never ever subscribe to labels but we do subscribe to the potential and opportunity for improvement in every child. 

For the purposes of this blog let us assume that the child I was coaching did have PDA. He exhibited a range of behaviours, including resisting and avoiding the ordinary demands of life, like me asking him to sit ...

As life coaches, we know that working with children often requires a unique, engaging approach. Children, especially those who tend to be excessively negative, benefit greatly from learning through play. Play is an incredibly powerful tool that can help children shift their mindset, regulate their emotions, and reframe negative thinking in a fun and natural way. Here are some top tips for coaching children to overcome excessive negativity, using some fun Play Based Coaching® tactics that promote positivity and resilience.

1. Create a Safe Play Space for Emotions
Before diving into the techniques, it’s important to establish a space where children can feel free to express themselves. Through play, children often feel more comfortable opening up about their emotions. You can use role-playing games to act out different scenarios where children express frustration or sadness. This not only allows children to process their emotions but also provides a healthy outlet for them to release nega...