parenting Archives - Jo Emerson

Have yourself a confident Christmas… November 30, 2017 – Posted in: Advice, Confidence, Personal Development, Relationships

For those of you who regularly read my blog and my advice column you’ll know that I’m all about authenticity and being real. Why? Because perfectionism and mask-wearing are two of the biggest barriers to confidence that I’ve come across in my six years as a coach. I’ve worked with hundreds of people (probably thousands now) and they all tell me that pretending to be someone or something they’re not feeds their insecurities. And dismantles…

Confidence is a muscle that you need to exercise October 23, 2017 – Posted in: Advice, Confidence, Personal Development

So many people think that confidence is something we are either born with or not but this is a lie! Confidence is a muscle – we all have a confidence muscle but some of us haven’t learnt to exercise it yet. If you want tight, strong tummy muscles you go to the gym to do your sit ups, crunches, planks, and leg raises 3-4 times a week, you also watch your diet and, lo and…

You can never out-give life… May 29, 2017 – Posted in: Advice, Confidence, Personal Development

Clients often work with me because they want to find out what their purpose is in life. Or even, what the purpose is of life itself. Here’s what I’ve discovered… Life is about giving – not taking. Our culture teaches us to grab, and compete, and grasp for stuff/people/experiences/status etc but I believe if you give freely of yourself to life it will always just give back to you. In spades! Giving is something I…

Loving others means accepting them for who they are April 8, 2016 – Posted in: Advice, Relationships

I was recently approached by a father who wanted me to work with his daughter so that she could become the focussed, academic, A* student he knew she could be. He wanted the best for her and could see that she wasn’t reaching her potential. He was very keen for her to have coaching. She, on the other hand, was determined (at age 19) to find her own path. She didn’t want to go to…

When children start showing signs of independence December 6, 2015 – Posted in: Relationships

One of the best pieces of parenting advice I’ve ever been given is to remember that my job, as a mum, is to develop adults. This I’ve taken to mean that the over-arching goal of my work as a parent of young children has been to help those kids become ready for adult life. Remembering this goal has really helped when faced with a tricky decision over one of my daughters or when I’ve had…

What I’ve learnt from borrowing other peoples’ kids September 13, 2015 – Posted in: Advice, Confidence, Relationships

As many of you know I have three daughters aged 11, 8 and 6. I also have the honour of ‘borrowing’ other people’s children for periods of time as a foster parent to older teenagers. We’ve been fostering as a family for nearly six years and it’s been a wonderful, life-affirming and challenging experience to share our home, our hearts and our lives with the young people who’ve joined our family.

Leave your emotional junk out of your kids’ lives August 24, 2015 – Posted in: Advice, Leaders and Teams, Relationships

When I first became a mum in 2004 my own childhood came into stark relief and I realised in a fresh way just how painful and traumatic much of my early years had been. With this in mind I became driven to do it differently with my own children to the point where I became a perfectionist about my parenting. One cross word from me to my daughter and I felt an immediate avalanche of…

How to Have a Great Career and Be a Great Parent July 29, 2015 – Posted in: Personal Development

One of the biggest challenges of modern life is how to juggle our work with our family commitments. Whilst some parents choose to stay home with their kids (and hats off to them!), most of us have to work or choose to work AND raise our kids. So, how can you manage this in order to feel like you’re winning at both? For me it comes down to three things – drop the guilt,…

Step off the Competitive Parenting Hamster Wheel June 10, 2015 – Posted in: Leaders and Teams, Personal Development

Whether you’re a new mum or a seasoned parent of university leavers there is one thing that will poison your parenting like nothing else and that’s competitive child rearing. I first noticed this phenomenon when Beth, my first child, was about 4-months old and some of my new-mum peers starting competing to see whose child would hold their head steady first. Seriously! Then the race to weaning began swiftly followed by a competition to…

Boost Your Child’s Self Esteem and the Rest Will Follow May 11, 2015 – Posted in: Confidence, Relationships

Confidence is one of the greatest gifts we can give to our children, especially in this era of constant peer comparison on social media. But, how on earth do you instill self-belief into your child? Aside from the basics of love, nurture, support and clear boundaries it’s my conviction that the more I allow my daughters to do things independently of me the more confidence they gain. This can be in the small things…