The role of the ego

First, it’s essential to understand the role of your ego when it comes to taking risks. Our ego is committed to the status quo. It is a sneaky aspect of our psyche that will create logical, believable, and reasonable defense mechanisms to maintain our current conditions, regardless of how much we want to change them. 

One of the roles the ego plays is to keep us safe. And safe often means comfortable.

This is why so many of us come up against that inevitable, “Who am I to do that?” 

One of the best parts of learning to be a coach is developing a deep understanding of defense mechanisms. We recognize them in ourselves and others and develop the skills to move (ourselves or others) forward in a more empowered way.

Dispelling the myth that you need to be a perfect parent to help other parents

Being a parenting coach is not about being a perfect parent. That would make you seem inauthentic and unavailable to meet your potential clients where they are. Let go of any idea that you must be a super-parent to do this work effectively. I would say quite the opposite – the more authentic you are, the better. That being said, I think it's essential to understand what coaching is and is not. 

If you think about being a coach in any context, for whatever area of expertise, your role is to allow your client to claim what they want for themselves, set intentions, and follow through on their choices with action. So, if you were a fitness coach, you would help your clients set fitness goals. Then you’d stand beside them as they lifted weights. As parenting coaches, we help our clients set parenting goals. And then we “stand beside” them as they put their intentions into practice. 

We provide them the training, accountability, compassionate support, and guidance to follow through on their intentions, celebrate their successes, and create the change they want in their relationship with their children. 

When parenting is our thing, we create an echo chamber. Your social media feeds are likely full of parenting experts, coaches, and authors. But that’s not the case for MOST of the seven billion people on the planet.

We are seeing a major cultural shift happening around the concept of parenting education and coaching. When Jai was founded a decade ago, there was still a cultural belief that parenting should "come naturally” and that asking for help meant that a parent wasn’t a “good person.” 

This belief is changing rapidly. So many people are now embracing the truth that if parenting is our most important job, educating ourselves about raising children is vital. 



This education is what Parent Coaches do! So many people need you to follow your heart so that you can help them.

A better question to ask yourself is: “Who am I to NOT do the work I’m so passionate about??” 

What do you feel when you see another person following their dreams and doing work that makes the world better while earning a great living? 

Do you feel inspired? Jealous? Do you start to tell yourself a story that they are better than you? Have something you don’t have? 

This reaction is oh-so-normal!!

And guess what? It is 99.9% likely that the person you see doing what you want to do once had these same feelings and fears. They simply learned to make their dreams BIGGER. All of us who forge a path for ourselves in our work, whether being a Parenting Coach or something else, learn to be ok with being scared and do it anyway. 

If they can do it, you can too! 

We train you to be a parent coaching professional. You simply need to bring your passion, presence, and commitment. 

So back to our original question: Who are you to be a parenting coach? 

You're somebody that cares deeply about kids. You're someone who has a dream. I always tell people, “If you keep your dreams big, your worries will stay small.”

It makes me sad that some people in the world dream of doing something with their lives and don't have the opportunity to follow through on those dreams. So if you dream of becoming a parenting coach, whether here at Jai or one of the other fantastic training organizations out in the world, I invite you to keep your dreams big and focus on what you can do. 

When the snarky voices come up, recognize them for what they are. They are just fear patterns looking to keep you in your current status quo. You don't have to listen to them. You don't have to pay attention to them. Just because a thought goes through your mind doesn't mean it's right or true. 

If you struggle with negative thought patterns getting in the way of you taking action to move forward in your dreams, a great book that I recommend that everyone read is The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. It was the first book I read that helped me realize that just because I was thinking something didn't mean that I had to believe it. It changed my life. 

Ready to take the next step toward doing work that lights you up, fulfills your longing to help the world be a better place for kids, and gives you the freedom and flexibility you want to be the parent you want to be for your children? 

Check out our comprehensive, science-based Parent Coach Certification Program here. 

If you’re anything like the rest of our students, it will change your life.