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Parent Express for 13-Jun-2010
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June
2010 Where will you be on Saturday, June 19? Preparing for Father's Day, or getting some work done around the house, or perhaps both? There is something I urge you and your kids not to do on June 19 and that is tune into Nickelodeon's Addicting Games Showdown, a showcase to promote such "games" to children as Torture Chamber III: "The object of Torture Chamber is to cause as much pain as possible to your victim before he dies. Doing so awards pain points, and unlocks new forms of punishment." Yes, you actually read that correctly. It's been ten years since I wrote Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie, and Video Game Violence and the problem of violent video games continues to escalate. If you are outraged, sickened and disheartened as we are by Torture Chamber (and other totally inappropriate games) as a way to "entertain" our children, please join us at The Parent Coaching Institute in supporting the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood's pressure on Nickelodeon. Please see the sidebar information on how you can make a positive difference by taking a few minutes of your time to let your opinion be heard. In time for Father's Day, we are delighted to feature two articles by PCI coaches who also happen to be dads! Tim Brady's article reminds us of sound principles and practices for sports experiences for our children. As a PCI Certified Parent Coach® in Boise, Idaho, and a former sports coach for his children's teams, Tim specializes in helping parents and their children focus more on fun participation when often outside pressures make parents push kids to perform. For more information about Tim's work, visit SportsParentCoach.com. Keith Morton, PCI Parent Coach in Training who will graduate this fall, lives and works in the Bronx, New York. Keith tells a moving story about finding and embracing his identity as a new father. For more inspiration from Keith, be sure to visit his blog at FatherDad.com. Finally, I share a book review of Lift: Becoming a Positive Influence in Any Situation by Robert Quinn and his son, Ryan Quinn, both professors of business. Robert is well known at The PCI™ because we have used his classic book Change the World in Course 3 for Parent Coach Certification® since I began The PCI™ in 2000. We are all excited about an upcoming workshop he will present for The PCI™ Community of students and graduates in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in a few weeks. Lift is a terrific, highly practical book, destined to become another classic. Consider it a must read over the summer! As we celebrate this Father's Day and honor all dads, let's keep in mind all of the work to set boundaries against violent video games, and other negative influences, and all of the exciting, yet at times exhausting, years of sports practices and game attendance—all the enormous effort to make positive differences in the lives of our children, as fathers and mothers over 18 years and beyond, means we get to spend the rest of our lives with self-actualized, caring, creative, and interesting adult children. What could be a greater gift? I wish you and your families a wonderful summer vacation with lots of down time to enjoy each other's company. The Parent Express will take July off and will resume in August. See you then! Gloria DeGaetano, Founder and CEO
"Do you know how many friendships are owed to you through what you have created? Aside from the changes your PCI coaches have made in the lives of their clients, you have also enabled all of us to make wonderful lasting friendships with really amazing women. That is also changing the world, Gloria. You are amazing, and I treasure knowing you."
Apply now for fall quarter Parent Coach Certification®. Apply before August 15 to receive a $900 tuition discount for September start! The final application deadline for fall start is September 3. Phone classes begin the week of September 20. Thank you to all those who are calling to apply to The PCI™! Our phones are very busy these days. We are now accepting applications for fall quarter. Review our program overview here, including information on early application discounts and payment plans. Find a flyer on the Parent Coach Certification® Training Program here that you can review and share. Word is getting out about our innovative, energizing, and highly practical Parent Coach Certification® Training. Because of the overwhelming response, we highly encourage you not to delay in submitting your application for summer start. By planning ahead, you will be assured of a spot if accepted into the program, after the enrollment process is complete. Please send in the basic application as the first step. Download the application here. Once we receive this document, we will contact you for a phone interview. Transcripts and reference letters can follow the basic application by a few weeks. Questions? Please call (425) 401-1519 or email info@ThePCI.org. Please Note: Phone classes are in the evening time, usually at 5PM or 6PM (Pacific Time) to accommodate the work schedules of our students. Listen to an audio message from Gloria DeGaetano to learn about the five advantages of Parent Coach Certification®.
"Through The PCI™ training, I have made a transformational change, for I have truly changed both inside and outside. I look forward to developing a practice, continued work with The PCI™, and hopefully, being a transformational change agent for others."
—Barb Bushey, PCI Certified Parent Coach®
South Lyon, Michigan 
Working with a parent coach who has received Parent Coach Certification® through The PCI™ is giving yourself a valuable gift as well as a sound investment in your family's future. PCI Certified Parent Coaches® are caring, thoughtful professionals with years of experience working with parents. They have successfully completed The PCI™ Parent Coach Certification® Training Program—a comprehensive academic, one-year, graduate-level program in collaboration with Seattle Pacific University. Through a series of coaching conversations that can be either by telephone or in-person, PCI Certified Parent Coaches® help you re-discover your dreams and design your life for more joy and satisfaction. To find a PCI Certified Parent Coach® in your area, please click here or call (425) 401-1519 for a referral to a PCI Certified Parent Coach® selected especially for you.  Parents Matter Most 
by Tim Brady, PCI Certified Parent Coach®
The sports landscape in our country has changed tremendously over the past thirty years. There are many positives represented in this change: more opportunities for all skill levels to play, more opportunities for girls, kids can play at younger ages, and many new sports continue to evolve. Overall, there are more opportunities than ever for kids to play sports. In fact, over 40 million kids are playing sports. But there is some downside to our evolving sports culture. Over 30 percent of the kids playing today are dropping out by the time they are 13 years old. Professor Dan Gould from Michigan State University indicates the number one reason kids quit is because they are not having fun! Something doesn't seem right when millions of kids are not having fun playing sports. Parents Infuence It is interesting to listen to parents as they discuss the best way to assure a great experience for their children. Many search out the right coach, while some consider a team with the best chance to win. Others like to guide their child toward a sport they played best or liked best. But the number one influence on whether kids love their sports experience, or not, is parents' attitudes and behaviors. Same Place, Same Face
Adapted from the essay of the same title, published in the compilation
by Keith D. Morton, PCI Parent Coach in Training
My coaching colleagues have playfully (and professionally) pointed out that I am not shy about leaning on the Poetic Principle to illustrate how I can relate to a parent in a given situation. I suppose that, as a blogger and someone who dabbles in memoir writing and biographical essays, much of my life is about the stories I share about my life. In the age of reality TV and false celebrity based on meaningless life experiences, which are shamelessly recorded and broadcast to millions, I fear that we are in trouble of losing the poetry that is inherent in the telling of a simple story. The art of sharing a personal anecdote is being diminished by the heavy-handed imagery found all day everyday on television. As a coach, I believe in the use of the written and spoken word because without those tools I might as well be a "Kardashian." In that spirit, I offer one of my simplest and favorite stories just in time for Father's Day: The jagged boardwalk made me nervous. What if the boy started running (as three-year-olds are inclined to do), crashing to the unwelcoming wood below him, splinters invading his knees and palms? Thoughts like that had become a common part of my life from the moment I found out my wife was pregnant. That beautiful summer day was no exception as the three of us walked in the shadow of Wonder Wheel, trying to find a little peace near the ocean in an otherwise bustling city. We eventually found a concrete path which took us to one of the most famous hot dog establishments in the world: Nathan's. Devin and I stood outside as my wife went to place an order. People walked back and forth, some sporting a variety of tattoos that were displayed on backs and arms; and there I was on guard as always. In front of me I noted the chatter of busy people. I realized it was directed toward me.
"I just got off the phone with a new coaching client of mine and felt that I needed to let you know that I am so impressed and grateful for this incredible and amazing curriculum that you have developed. I am able to be and do what I have always dreamed of because of The PCI™ and what you've created. I feel so blessed, inspired, and in awe…"
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"Gloria, thank you for the suggestions and all of your guidance. The program is amazing, and I am having a blast coaching!"
Gloria DeGaetano Interviewed on The Coaching Commons
Stoller Parent Coaching Reaches Out to Pediatricians
Help Needed to Stop the Promotion of Violent and Sexualized Games to Children
The Parent Coaching Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and welcomes donations from individuals, organizations, and corporations who want to support its mission To transform the world by revitalizing parenting through prevention and possibility.™ For more information, please click here or contact The PCI™ at info@ThePCI.org or (425) 401-1519. Visa and MasterCard are accepted. 
Back issues of Parent Express are available on The PCI™ Web site. There you can read articles by Gloria DeGaetano and PCI Certified Parent Coaches®, and easily send past issues to friends and colleagues via e-mail.
Book Review: 
by Gloria DeGaetano
Lift: Becoming a Positive Force in Any Situation
After reading Robert E. Quinn's book, Change the World: How Ordinary People Can Achieve Extraordinary Results, I thought to myself, "This man wants us all to become saints!" Why? Because Change the World describes eight "seed principles" that if taken seriously and acted upon naturally leads to a course of compassionate action on behalf of others. Robert Quinn's new book, Lift: Becoming a Positive Force in Any Situation, which he co-authored with his son Ryan Quinn, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia's Darden's School of Business, deepens that journey toward "sainthood." Lift reports a way for us to become positive change agents immediately in any situation we encounter by asking ourselves four basic questions: 1) What result do I want to create? 2) What would my story be if I were living the values I expect of others? 3) How do others feel about this situation? 4) What are three (or four or five) strategies I could use to accomplish my purpose for this situation? |
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This issue of Parent Express was originally published June 13, 2010. Some content, contact information, and links may be out of date, and the conversion from the original email edition may introduce formatting inconsistencies.
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