Fine-tuning child-rearing skills with help from Boost Parenting

BY ANDREA BUSCHE

While there’s nothing like the sublime joy of welcoming a new child into the family, let’s face it: parenting is hard. And the immense amount of decision-making can at times seem endless.

New parents immediately face a barrage of choices such as breast vs. bottle, whether or not to co-sleep, and whether it’s worth it for Mom to go back to work. And as the kids get older, there are much bigger issues to contend with, such as cellphones, discipline and social media. It can be overwhelming!

Boost Parenting

Laura Goodman, owner of Boost Parenting, knows that parenting is tough. As a licensed parent educator, certified life coach and mother of three herself, Goodman acknowledges that parenting can feel isolating, and sometimes it’s necessary to reach out and ask for help. And that’s where Boost comes in.

Boost Parenting provides parent coaching services through individual and group sessions. While Goodman stresses that she is not a therapist, her background includes a degree in Family Social Science, graduate-level licensure in parenting education, and certification as a life coach. “My passion is really to help support parents,” she said.

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Services Offered

Goodman, who lives in Duluth, currently works as a parent educator for the ProctorHermantown School District, teaches Early Childhood Family Education classes, and teaches ballet through the Minnesota Ballet, in addition to running Boost Parenting on the side. She founded her business in 2013, after recognizing the huge drop-off in resources after kids reach kindergarten, and their families no longer qualify for ECFE.

Boost Parenting offers support services to parents in four ways:

• Consultation – Goodman helps the client target improvement in a specific area of parenting, such as sleep training, and identify the behavior modification necessary to achieve the parent’s goal. This is typically a one-time session.

• Coaching – Goodman helps parents pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses. She helps parents identify what they can improve, and gives them a gentle nudge to hold themselves accountable for their parenting. This is more of a long-term, ongoing relationship.

• Workshops – Information is presented on a variety of parenting topics such as positive discipline, emotional intelligence, and sibling relationships. Usually a group of like-minded individuals, such as a church group, will request a workshop.

• Small Group sessions – Similar to a workshop, but smaller. A group of parents gather for discussion and learning, with Goodman facilitating.

The individual coaching and consulting sessions typically take place over the phone or at a local coffee shop, as Boost is a home-based business. Workshops and small group sessions are usually held at a local church, where quality childcare is always provided.