Readers Feedback for Parenting Book, “Pro-Active Parent Coaching: Capturing the Heart of Your Child.”
Parenting Book Pro-Active Parent Coaching by Gregory Bland
Thank you for purchasing and reading the Parent Coaching Book “Pro-Active Parent Coaching:Capturing the Heart of Your Child.” We trust it was not only an encouragement to you, but gave you a grasp on parent coaching and equipped you to connect with and empower your children.
As we continue developing Parent Coaching materials your feedback is valuable to us. Would you take a few moments to reflect upon the book, the following questions and share your thoughts with us.
a. What impacted me the most?
b. What did I find to be the most valuable?
c. What changes have I made in my own life as a result of reading this book?
d. What other comments or feedback would you like to share with us?
Thank you for your time and consideration with all of this. I trust you enjoyed your journey into Pro-Active Parent Coaching.
Your friend and Pro-Active Parent Coach
Greg
We have know the Bland Family for many years now and have watched them put the principles of Proactive Parent Coaching into practice. This approach WORKS!! It has brought a more intentionall, God centered aspect to our family relationships and we have a great sense of hope as we look to the future in guiding our growning children!!..
Thank you Katie,
I trust that you continue to enjoy rich relationship within your family. I know that Elijah and Trinity will be encouraged and respond well to your parenting.
After I finished reading the book last night, I thought to myself, “The principles and concepts found in this book could be applied to pastoral ministry as well”. The reason for this is, as a recent graduate of Bible college, and seminary student, I wish to be as equpped for pastoral ministry as possible. Contained within “Pro-Active parent coaching”, Greg gives a clear and pragmatic approach to ensure health in our relationships, and to ensure the growth of our children into the people God wants them to be. These lessons can be used as we not only shepherd the children in our care, but as pastors, we need to shepherd, “the flock of God”, committed to our care. This book I commend to you as a valuable tool for both purposes!
Thank you Charlie.
You have great insight in relation to utilizing this coaching model within pastoral ministry as well. As I wrote Pro-Active Parent Coaching, I recognized that the principles we use in our parenting were the very same principles we used within our pastoring. Personally, I feel that coaching is an incredible tool through which pastors offer an effective support structure to fulfill our Ephesians 4 mandate to “equip the people for the work of ministry.”
Thank you for your kind comments and I look forward to hearing what God continues to do through your life, family and ministry.
Greg was my pastor for 7 years and I valued his values so I decided to read the book and since I am a grandmother I didn’t think this book would be very useful to me.
While under Greg’s preaching and watching how he lived his life I learned a lot from him so much of the book was very familiar to me. I did realized while reading this book I could use these practices to help guide any one making decisions in their life, not just children. It was quite useful to me.
I have ordered 2 more books for young parents that I know.
Greg’s book will be a great asset to our society today.
Thank you Joyce,
Thank you again for your kind words and i look forward to the impact this book can have upon family’s around the world.
I appreciate your kind words and also value the relationship that we have shared and continue to share. It’s great when people recognize the value of coaching, and as you said, the principles in this book can help anyone making decisions in their life. Although focused upon parenting, the principles reach much further than just parenting.
As a parent and a pastor of a church, I found this book to be very helpful and practical. It is down-to-earth with lots of illustrations. Pro-active parent coaching recognizes that we need to connect with our kids and build relationships with them in order to help them grow. This book recognizes the natural growth patterns of a child, and how a child needs to shoulder more responsibility as they grow older. As our children grow we need to move away from the do and tell method to the mentoring and coaching method. It is the application of coaching principles to parenting that makes this book unique.
The first section focuses upon supporting a relationship through understanding by connecting, asking, listening, and clarifying. These topics are all expanded upon in detail. All of these things helps our kids to know that they matter to us. The second sections covers the transition from a supporting relationship to supporting growth in our children. We support growth by exploring possibilities, assessing desire, securing commitment, and encouraging progress. You could basically sum it up by saying that it involves understanding where our children are, where they need to be, and how they are going to get there.
This is the book for you if you believe that God has a plan for your children. Instead of parents trying to find God’s plan for a child, this book gives parents practical ways to mentor their children in discovering God’s plan for their own lives. God has placed desires in our heart to make a difference, and our kids need to discover and explore those desires and parents have a wonderful privilege of walking alongside their kids as they grow. This is a book I think any parent would find helpful no matter what ages their kids are, because these principles can be used to help children of all ages make decisions and transition from childhood, through the teenage years, and into adulthood.
Thank you Pastor,
I appreciate your kind words and observations on the practicality of the book. We continue to pray that it will be a huge blessing to the parents who desire to connect with and empower their children.
My family and I recently had the privilege of sitting under Pastor Greg and Lynn’s unique ministry for a season. After reading his book, “Pro-Active Parent Coaching – Capturing the Heart of Your Child”, I now see clearly what makes this family so special.
Greg begins with a conversation in which he speaks openly and honestly with one of his children, revealing the rocky start he had in life. As the book progresses we learn how God can take a young man who “lived for himself”, change the direction of his life and transform him into a loving parent coach, having had no mother and father himself at home while growing up.
Greg and Lynn’s approach to parent coaching differs from traditional child rearing in numerous ways. It “seeks to draw out of our children what God has already deposited within them”. Traditionally parents make decisions for their children while parent coaching “encourages children to make decisions” for themselves. It also encourages “taking responsibility for their own lives”, even from a very early age, and “engaging life experiences for learning” by supporting their interests and encouraging children to reach for their dreams. I firmly believe, after reading this book, that parent coaching has the potential to increase relational bonds between parent and child like nothing else! It “communicates that our children can indeed hear from and understand what God is saying to them.”
By listening to conversations between the parent coach and various members of his/her family, we soon realize that children, even early on, are often more capable than we give them credit for. Katelyn, Hannah and Joshua, thank you for allowing your father to share with us your conversations with him and/or your mother. They have been an incredible teaching experience to me, and give great credibility to this book. I love the idea of date days and doing dishes with your parents, was amazed that a young child could achieve her dream of owning a dirt bike, and could raise enough money to buy all of her family Christmas gifts. You are headed for greatness in the eyes of the Lord and a blessing to your parents!
While my children are already grown, I feel I can still use this approach in helping to raise amazing “(grand)children raisers that can influence generations to come.” And I intend to share this book with my children and recommend it as a must read to friends with children of their own.
My favourite quote or two in this book? “Encouragement is oxygen to the soul” and “You can teach what you want, but you reproduce what you are.” If I may add one of my favourites it would be,
“People will forget your exact words and actions but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Applying the Parent Coaching approach has the ability to alter the way we, as parents, relate to our children. (How I wish it had been in print 30 years ago!) As it changes us, I believe our children and grandchildren have the potential themselves to raise a generation of their own that can capture the heart of their children. And so on, and so on…..
Thank you for your kind words Lori. I will cherish these as we continue to develop Pro-Active Parent Coaching to help parents connect with and equip their children. I look forward to how the principles you apply impact you not only as a parent, but I know you will have a great impact upon your grandchildren too.