10 Reasons Moms Make The Best Health Coaches

Did you know that, as a mom, you inherently possess a number of attributes that can give you an edge as a future Health Coach? It’s true! Those traits and skills you’ve been honing over the years as a mom actually translate into major pluses when it comes to working as a Health Coach. So without further ado…here are 10 ways moms are hardwired to rock Health Coaching.

10 Reasons Being a Mom Can Make the Best Health Coach!

1. Natural Born Kissers
When your little one has a boo-boo, you are the first person he comes crying to. Yes, because you’re his mom. But also because he knows you are his pillar, his rock, his nurturer, his whisperer. You are his safe haven. You are the one he can turn to in times of pain, crisis, and heartache. Moms know the importance of creating a safe, nurturing space for their children, so their children know to trust them and turn to them with their problems.

Moms also know the importance of not being a dumping ground or doormat for their children, and how to set good boundaries with their kids so that their love and attention is not taken for granted. Yes, this can be years in the making, but moms are forced to learn this good stuff that translates so well into the coaching world. The best coaches are natural born kissers who know how to hold a safe space in which their clients can trust them.

2. No Matter What
We all know just how important it is to our soul’s development to feel unconditional love. Some people believe that this is the ultimate gift of parenting. Mothers are in a unique position to experience this, being the biologically chosen ones to carry their babes, nurse, and bond in a way that dads don’t get to do until the baby is born. This intimate bond in utero often helps the mom develop unconditional love for her babe from the get-go.

Unconditional love is divine love. It’s love that comes from something greater than us. From something holier. One of the greatest gifts we as coaches can offer our clients is this sense of “no matter what”. This doesn’t mean that you must endure abusive words, or rowdy behavior from your clients, no. This means that you must show your clients that no matter what fears, upsets, trepidation, or concerns they bring to the table—all is welcome and they will not be turned away. Moms know how to cultivate this space for clients, which feels a lot like unconditional love.

3. Free-Range vs. Helicopter
In Mom Land there are two kinds of polar parenting styles—free-range and helicopter. Free-range is the kind of mom who takes her kids to a park and lets them run wild, get dirty, fall and cry, play with other kids by themselves at their own initiative, and generally go to the edge whether it be the edge of the curve, the edge of the climbing structure, or the edge of their tantrum without freaking out and running to the rescue.

Helicopter style is the opposite. It’s the kind of mom who takes her kids to the park and is constantly fussing over them, placating their cries, feeding them food, not leaving their side, picking them up when they fall or better yet, not letting them fall because they’re right behind them every step of the way. It’s called helicopter because the mom is circling around her kid like a helicopter.

The key as a coach is to find a balance between these two and not go to one extreme or the other. Clients are adults who do best when given breathing space and support, not coddling. They also do best with accountability and not being left to “figure it all out” on their own. Moms are super familiar with both free-range and helicopter styles, and are the best people to strike the balance between the two for their clients.

4. The Mother Of All Listeners
Ahhhh listening. Mom whisperers. Masterful coaches know that listening is an art. It’s the key to getting on your client’s map, to establishing rapport, to creating deep connection and facilitating powerful change work. Moms know this too. A child that is listened to feels heard. A child that is heard feels safe. A child that feels safe opens up. So too with clients. Listening is a powerful tool that moms are forced to cultivate from the moment their babe utters their first cry. Moms have to be intuitive and listen for the nuances from the start. Is this a hunger cry? A wet diaper cry? A boo-boo cry? A heartache cry? An “I’m not getting what I want” cry? Moms are adept at translating their listening skills to their coaching, and this is key.

5. Naturally Health-Conscious
Moms know the importance of becoming super health-conscious while their babes are in utero. Growing embryos need tons of nutrition and so does the mom-to-be. Often, new moms start becoming nutrition-savvy during their pregnancies. Other moms know instinctively once their babies are born that in order to grow, their children need healthy food. Moms know that a diet of fast food, candy, and soda will not cut it for their kiddos.

Many HCI grads tell us that they started becoming health-conscious after a child suffered a health ailment they wanted to help heal. They then realize that they can get their entire families, including themselves and finally their clients, healthier by learning about optimal nutrition and creating a healthier lifestyle that includes healthy eating, exercise, fresh air, sunshine, low stress, and more love. So, too, a masterful Health Coach knows that being health-conscious is the foundation of a client’s path to a better life.

6. Multitasking Superstars
Moms are adept jugglers. At breakfast time while her family sits at the table, a mom can stir the pot with one hand and hold a baby on her hip with another, while simultaneously holding a conversation with her partner and fielding constant questions from another child. Moms know that life is multi-layered and that, at any given moment, they may need to shift gears fast.

Similarly, Health Coaching is a dynamic, constantly changing, exciting career that requires an open mind and the ability to multitask. It’s not a typical job where you arrive at 9 am, punch in your time card, do your tasks, and punch out at 5 pm. Health Coaches are dealing with human emotions, dreams, pain, shame, and a host of feelings that require the skills of patience and compassion, as well as the ability to multitask. On the practical level, a Health Coach manages multiple client relationships at once, as well as the day-to-day responsbilities of running a business. As a mom whose juggling skills are already second to none, you’re already prepared to step into this multi-faceted role and handle anything that comes your way with ease and confidence.

7. First For Me, Then For Others
Just the same as airplane safety instructions tell parents to first put the oxygen mask on themselves and then on their children, so too do we at HCI believe “first for you, then for others”. And nobody knows this better than moms. Moms know that it’s impossible to give from an empty cup, that being a parent is demanding and relentless, and that if you don’t nurture yourself first, you’ll have nothing to give to your children.

Modern moms especially have learned that the act of self-care is not selfish. Instead, it is the greatest gift we can offer our children. Our children will mirror that behavior and learn that the greatest gift they can give their children is to first take care of their own needs so they can give from a place of wholeness rather than depletion, and abundance rather than lack. A Health Coach needs to fill herself up first, before tending to her client.

8. Tough Love Cheerleaders
A healthy mom is there for her children when they need her to be and is not over-coddling, over-smothering, or over-bearing. She knows that sometimes she has to be tough to show them love, which means settin boundaries, saying no, disciplining, and refusing to be treated like a doormat. On the other hand, a mom knows that she is there to cheer her children on no matter what and make them feel unconditionally loved, special, and capable of achieving anything they set their minds to. This is a trait that makes a Health Coach a master of her trade.

9. Crystal Ball Vision-Holders
Children will go through all kinds of phases as they grow up and will entertain the thought of different dreams becoming a reality. Moms are there as guides, as well as to hold the space as vision holders for their children’s dreams. Moms know that dreams change as children grow and they aim to be supportive while providing stretch and reminding their children that it is possible to manifest their dreams.
When Health Coaches do this for their clients, their clients are imbued with the power of manifestation and they believe in themselves and that anything is possible. They feel seen, heard, held, and accepted for who they are. Health Coach moms make the ultimate vision-holders for their clients. Oftentimes, a client feels so empowered by their Health Coach, that they practically consider the coach to be their crystal ball.

10. Adaptability Experts
Similar to multi-tasking, only different in that adaptability means the ability to change with changes, to roll with the punches, to go with the flow, to be flexible and forgiving. Moms know that just when they think they’ve mastered one developmental phase like the terrible two’s, their little one turns three. They have no choice but to adapt to the tides. In this way, they make the perfect Health Coaches since a client’s personal growth is so similar to a child’s developmental phase in that there can be sudden, radical shifts in behavior, and beliefs that alter the client’s path for good.

Health Coaches will coach someone whom, given enough time (and enough hard work on the client’s behalf), they may hardly recognize by the end of their coaching time together. That’s the transformative power Health Coaching can offer. Mom Health Coaches know that adaptability is key here as they guide their clients to embrace the changes calmly and willingly—the key to growth of any kind.

By: Health Coach Institute

Health Coach Institute provides aspiring Health and Life Coaches with the tools, training, and support to make a great living transforming lives.