TORCH + Coach Pia On Family Dialogues

First things first, you might want to sign up the kiddos and teenyboppers to TORCH, Coach Pia's Leadership Development Program this summer. There are two batches scheduled: April 23-26 and May 7-10 so whichever works, this is worth signing up for.

Why? Well apart from the importance of character building and meeting like-minded peers, I think TORCH is a great way to prepare kids for the real world. I am a huge fan of Coach Pia and whenever I attend her parenting talks, I always find myself reviewing my notes and eager to take on the life lessons we discussed. It would be great to expose our kids to her wisdom as early as now.

If you haven't had the opportunity to know about Coach Pia, she is an author, relationship expert, certified life coach and CEO of The One CORE – the first and only success center in the Philippines that aims to help young individuals be the best they can be. I first learned about her through Kris aka OC Mom in Manila, and from them on, I've become a disciple, haha.

That being said, I have never missed a Coach Pia parenting session every time the opportunity arises.  She has taught me all I know about progressive parenting and while I am still admittedly a work in progress, I really make it a point to put to practice all that I learn from her.

Last month, the Mommy Mundo SoMoms (of which I am a part of) spent our Saturday morning with her to learn about Creating Structure for Dialogue.

In a nutshell, we discussed the importance of family communication, which let's face it, can still be a struggle amongst family members. I am sharing with you some of the highlights, because this could also help your family become closer through constant communication:

- Hold family meetings in neutral territory and to make it conducive to open dialogue, it is  recommended to do it in an open space, where there are not physical barriers such as tables and books.

- Make family meetings a regular thing and to make plans and ideas come to fruition, go ahead and have a board or write down ideas, thoughts and plans so each member can help each other work towards individual and family goals.

- During times when we feel frustrated with a parent, partner, sibling or child, think of what it is about him/her that inspires you and use that to look at that person in a favorable, non-judgmental light during times of frustration and confusion. Sometimes we get fixated with the negative that we fail to see the positive qualities of a person.

- Think of who in the family we can confide in and reflect on how comfortable we are in communicating with each one. Remember that your orbit of closeness changes through time and someone you felt alienated from before could be the person you are closest to now and vice versa. Don't beat yourself up if there is estrangement in the family, it happens.

- The leader of the family, not necessarily a parent, but someone who plays the parental role and his/her energy sets the tone for everyone. Their level of self-mastery is also crucial in leading the family. 

If you are interested in hearing more from Coach Pia, feel free to attend one of her FREE learning sessions every 2nd Tuesday of the month, from 7-9 pm at Fully Booked on Bonifacio High Street!

PS - Our family used to eat at Nando's in Singapore and Malaysia whenever we would crave for peri-peri chicken so imagine how pleased I was when I realized that O'Sonho, where we had our Coach Pia session, served Portuguese food!

Caldo Verde - so healthy and so good!

The perfectly spicy and tasty Peri-Peri Chicken

Penne with Salmon Puttanesca

The Calo Verde and Peri-Peri chicken are going to be repeat orders for me! If you are craving for Portuguese food, go and visit O'Sonho on Jupiter Street in Makati. It's open everyday from 11AM-11PM.

PPS - A huge thanks also to Unilab who sponsored our parenting session with Coach Pia!