Coach Pia & Co-Parenting

via The Philippine Beat

When fellow SoMom Jane Uymatiao of The Philippine Beat shared this photo on our group page, we had varied reactions ranging from a resigned, "Hay/Sigh" to:

"On the contrary, it is my husband who is mabagal!"

"My husband wouldn't dare say anything!"

"I can super relate! He'd even say, 'I fell asleep na, you're still not yet done!"

No matter the differences among our answers and the relationship between couples, one thing is for certain - us parents need to work together as a team in raising our kids. No ifs and buts about it.

This is why I made it a point to be present at our most recent session with Life Coach Pia Nazareno-Acevedo, entitled The Art of Co-Parenting: Raising a Child as a Team.

I think I have only ever missed a Coach Pia session with my New Beginnings group and the SoMoms once. As much as I can, I make time to attend because I feel that after each session with her, I am again reminded of how I have so much to learn about motherhood and being a wife, and that I am not alone in my parenting and family life journey.

Coach Pia of The One Core has helped me appreciate the great things as well as hurdle the challenges about my family, and also further understand the dynamics of relationships.

Hopefully, this understanding will lead to me becoming a better wife, mother, child, sister and outside family, a friend, employer and entrepreneur. I'm a work in progress, but I am enjoying the process.

Our latest SoMoms #Sessions with Coach Pia happened at SPACES at Babyland Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong.

When we got to the venue, I made a mental note that the newly set up Babyland SPACES is a great venue for intimate events, showers and parties. It's a bright and pleasant space...

...that is kid-friendly too! Loved the play area. If I brought Berry and Xavi along, they would have played here:

I always have great takeaways from each Coach Pia session. This time for The Art of Co-Parenting: Raising a Child as a Team was no exception.

Some highlights:

Nurture yourself. We can only nurture our children well if we take care of ourselves. As a unit, "Me time" fills our tank with energy and a clear head to get back into the whirl and demands of parenthood. If we don't give ourselves that time, then we may unconsciously build resentment towards our kids.

Nurture your relationship. Have a healthy relationship with our partner. As part of a couple, when parents get along, i.e. each one feels that they can be authentic around each other, and that they respect, trust and understand each other, then we parents can easily extend that love and understanding to our children.

Practical tip for nurturing a relationship -> Go on dates. Often taken for granted, especially for parents of young kids, a date, even if its just splitting a bottle of wine at home while the kids are asleep, gives parents precious alone time to enjoy each other's company, discuss matters other than mundane household issues, and update each other with stories they otherwise wouldn't have had the time to share.

Be on the same page. Goal setting is an essential ingredient for success. Parents should not only share the same goals but also share the same values. As parents, we may not always be sharing the same interests or vision, but we need to be willing to make concessions, adjust and be willing to come together to craft and pursue agreed upon goals while also celebrating individual strengths. Remember, TEAMWORK! For example, you can't promise a kid something without getting the other parent's approval. Always have a united front.

Transcend personal ego. Easier said than done, but sometimes we really do need to forget our own selfish motivations for the greater good of the family. Sometimes it is our vanity, pride, fear or insecurity that drives our decisions.

Thank you so much to Philips AVENT for also sponsoring this and the picky eaters/healthy eating habits talk by nutritionist Ruby Frame pre-Coach Pia. I really do feel that this session, as with past ones, have helped me become better at being a Trusted Mom within my circle of friends as well as for my readers.

Thanks as well to Mere et Bebe, distributor of Luvable Friends and Hudson Baby, baby wear lines from the US, for these soft, presko, Luvable Friends cotton shirts for Xavi!

Luvable Friends are available at Babyland, Baby Company stores and Landmark Trinoma and Makati.