Effects of the introductory coaching workshop for parents

Abstract

Background: Japan is currently facing a decline in the birthrate and family size. In addition, parents are increasingly unsure of their parenting skills due to a lack of community support for childcare. Preceding studies suggest that coaching is an effective method to facilitate parenting skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the introductory coaching workshop for parents. Methods: Thirty-four mothers with preschool children participated in the workshop. The coaching checklist for parents was used for assessment. Two coaching workshops for parents were conducted on 26th January and 1st February 2016 at the Obirin Kindergarten in Machida, Tokyo. Each workshop lasted for 90 minutes and consisted of guidance on parent coaching, modeling and paired exercises on listening, questioning and acknowledging. Results: Self-efficacy in each of five parent coaching skill categories (listening, support for children’s problem-solving, scolding, communicating approval, and watching children) was significantly higher than preceding levels for those skills. The open-ended questions regarding participants’ impressions of the workshop indicated participants were interested in the workshop, gained awareness of their daily attitude toward their children, and became highly motivated to learn listening, questioning and acknowledging skills. Discussion: The study demonstrated the effects of a brief introductory coaching workshop on facilitating the self-efficacy of parents’ coaching skills. Given that the participants were motivated parents at baseline, following workshops need to be designed to help them maintain their motivation.