Work/ Life Balance-- Hire a Coach!

I just read an article in the Miami Herald about a new trend called, Parent Coaches: For parents who have difficulty raising their children.

That’s a pretty big niche market.

You can get help with everything from thumb sucking, to bratty teen- age behavior. From sassy, disrespectful, dirty- laundry- lugging college students to biting, Lego throwing toddler Rambo’s. A personal Dr. Spock consultation.

Turns out that a lot of parents can run multi- million dollar companies, but they’re at a loss at home.

That’s because (generally speaking) you don’t have to take care of your co- workers diarrhea, night terrors or deal moment- to- moment with their new found pronunciation of the word, “no.” It’s because your boss doesn’t come into bed with you at 3 AM, crying.. (Again, generally speaking.)

And honestly, do you care if the people you work with eat their vegetables?

I’m not saying that I couldn’t have used a coach with my daughter. Although I’m convinced there were times an exorcist would have done the trick. Or, that I couldn’t use some help with my son and his need to leave wrappers and trash around the house, a trail of his every move as evidence he lives in this house-- but it seems to me that all a parent coach does is … give power back to the parents. Where it should have been all along.

How did we get so far away from that one idea? We are the parents.

Great leaders make tough decisions. Business people get things done and shell out consequences to both their peers and subordinates. There are similarities between what we do at work and home, just different vernacular. For instance, at work, a “time out” would be more like an unpaid leave of absence. “You’re grounded for life” would be “you’re now working in the mailroom.”

Great parents make tough decisions everyday. It’s hard work and it’s exhausting.
The pay stinks.

In the words of Erma Bombeck, if your child doesn’t scream the words, I HATE YOU, at least once in their life, you haven’t done your job.

There’s another thing to consider when wondering why home life is so much more difficult than work life. You don’t love, with all your being, your co-workers,
boss or shareholders.

Well, unless you’re one who let’s them crawl into bed with you at 3AM.