More about Mooniek | Parent & Peaceful

"For many years, I would look around my community, wondering how the heck parents survived the relentlessness of parenting, and how children made it to adulthood."

“I have been a parent coach since 2002. I simply love working with moms and dads of school-age kids who want to implement good ideas to help themselves and their kids. I am also certified as a personal leadership coach, trauma coach, and marriage coach.

As a parent coach, I choose to focus on peaceful parenting because that leads to the best outcomes for everyone involved, in my experience.

In addition to being a parent coach for 20-plus years, I am the mom of a now 28-year-old daughter. At first, my parent-journey was not easy. I often thought that my spirited, introverted, daughter counted for three kids! She gave me ‘the opportunity’ to learn and unlearn, re-learn, observe, re-adjust, adjust again, and dig deep. I experienced how all-consuming it can be to have a kid, work, and maintain a social life and a community, and did I mention I wanted a romantic life with her dad, my partner? Well … :)

I met too many parents who, like me, were completely exhausted, running on fumes, most of the time. For many years, I would look around my community, wondering how the heck children made it into adulthood, and how parents survived the relentlessness of parenting.

I know the mom guilt well, the beating myself up, the endless conversations in my mind, the doubts about what I was doing, what my daughter wasn’t doing. I remember my inner battles, wanting to control her while at the same time wanting her to grow up into an independent, authentic, and resilient person. I was constantly asking myself - was I helpful or stifling?

However, I can say that today, I have the most amazing, deep, loving relationship with my adult daughter. The one I had always hoped for. To get there, I studied nonstop, traveled worldwide to different cultures, and kept up with the latest research in child development, and neurological science. I read fantastic books on how brains and neurons grow, coached adults on their perceptions, and facilitated shadow work. It all influences families. Throughout the years, I have gained a lot of understanding and wisdom... and because of my personal experience as a mom and the experiences of my many mom/dad-clients, I now know what works and what doesn’t, when raising a young baby to adulthood.

Here is something I now know for sure:

*If you want to raise a resilient, capable, authentic child, you NEED to take care of yourself, feeding your own joy and sense of peace as much as you can. This has been backed up by so much science in recent years.

*The other thing I know is that being a parent requires a daily letting go of resentment and resistance.