Summer brings a different kind of pressure for families. This summer, IFC is introducing parent coaching — a practical, structured way to help parents of kids ages 4–10 build skills that actually work in the moments that matter.
Can we talk about how fast summer is coming?
It feels like we blink every year around this time and suddenly we’re two weeks out from the last day of school. The routines that held everything together — the wake-up times, the homework, the after-school structure — all of it just sort of… dissolves.
And for a lot of families, that’s wonderful. Summer should feel different.
But for many parents, it also brings its own kind of pressure.
More time together isn’t always easier time together
A lot of parents walk into summer already dealing with patterns they haven’t had the bandwidth to address during the school year:
- You’re repeating yourself constantly — and it’s not landing
- Transitions (getting out the door, turning off screens, shifting activities) turn into power struggles
- Your child has big reactions that escalate quickly, and you’re not sure how to respond in the moment
- You find yourself getting pulled into the same cycles — saying things you don’t mean or reacting in ways you wish you could change
If you’re parenting a child in that 4–10 range, these patterns tend to show up everywhere — and summer often turns up the volume.
This summer, we’re doing something we haven’t formally offered before: Summer Parent Coaching.
What parent coaching actually is (and what it isn’t)
We want to be upfront about this, because we know the word “coaching” can feel vague.
Parent coaching is not therapy. It’s not a space for deep emotional processing or working through your own history. That’s what therapy is for — and it’s valuable — but it’s a different thing.
Parent coaching is skill-building.
It’s practical, structured, and focused entirely on what you do — the specific ways you respond to your child in the moments that matter.
Your coach will teach you something, show you what it looks like, and then practice it with you. You’ll leave each session with something concrete to try at home.
Think of it less like sitting on a couch and more like working with a really good trainer — except instead of building strength, you’re building calm, consistent responses that actually land with your child.
We’re offering two packages this summer:
- Four sessions over two months
- Eight sessions over four months
Both are designed to be focused and time-limited — not open-ended. You come in with a goal, and we help you get there.
Why summer is actually the perfect time for this
Let’s be honest — summer is not a slow season for most families. Between camps, vacations, childcare logistics, and the general chaos of unstructured days, it can feel just as demanding as the school year — just in completely different ways. And that’s exactly why this timing makes sense.
The chaos is different — and so are the tools you need
The behaviors that school-year structure kept contained are front and center now. Your coach works with what’s actually happening in your house — right now, not a hypothetical.
You’re around each other more
Coaching works through repetition — trying something, noticing what happens, adjusting, and trying again. More time together means more opportunities to practice and build new skills.
The exact pressure points are right in front of you
The sibling conflicts, the screen time battles, the meltdowns before 9am — the exact situations you’ve been struggling with all year become more frequent and more visible.
Transitions are hard — on both ends
The shift into summer (and back into school) is a real adjustment. Parents who build new skills now tend to navigate those transitions with more confidence — and so do their kids.
Who this is for
This program is designed for parents of children ages 4–10 who:
- Feel caught in ongoing struggles around routines, limits, or transitions
- Notice their child has strong emotional reactions that are hard to manage
- Find themselves unsure what to do in the moment — or feel like what they’re trying isn’t working
- Want practical tools and guidance they can actually use right away
You don’t need to be in crisis to benefit from this. You just need to want things to feel a little different on the other side of summer.
Get started with parent coaching this summer
If you’re noticing these patterns in your day-to-day — and want more clarity and confidence in how you respond — this is exactly the kind of work parent coaching is designed for.