Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Schmoke.
Hi Kristin, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been a teacher in the truest sense of the word for over 25 years. I’ve taught children from toddlerhood through college, across nearly every type of classroom you can imagine. Traditional schools, progressive schools, Christian schools, outdoor classrooms, preschools, elementary schools, and higher education. I have a master’s degree in education, certifications in parent coaching, life and health coaching, and neuro-identity work. But the most important classroom I’ve ever been in is my own home. I’m a mother of four, and through raising them I’ve navigated ADHD, anxiety, autism spectrum differences, dyslexia, and Type 1 diabetes. I wasn’t an unaware parent. I was educated, attentive, and deeply invested. And still, I was struggling in ways I didn’t expect.
For years, I did what so many parents do. I searched for experts. I tried strategies. I attempted to manage behavior, soothe emotions, and keep the peace. What I didn’t realize was that my need to control was quietly eroding my relationship with my child. By the time my son was a teenager, our connection felt tense and fragile. I was walking on eggshells, making transactional attempts at closeness that only built resentment. When I finally enrolled in parent coaching, everything shifted. I stopped trying to fix my child and started looking at how I was showing up. The moment I released control and chose real connection, the tension dissolved. It wasn’t dramatic. It was calm. And it changed everything.
Today, I help parents understand that their child is not the problem. Behavior is communication, not defiance. I teach parents how to see beyond emotional outbursts, regulate their own nervous systems, and create relationships where children feel seen, heard, and held. This work is not about quick fixes or behavior charts. It’s about going first as the adult, building trust, and creating emotional safety that lasts. I do this because I’ve lived it. When parents change the way they show up, relationships change. And when relationships change, children don’t need to fight to be understood.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all. In fact, it was very bumpy for awhile. My child was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at just the age where he was supposed to start creating some independence from his parents, but we were afraid to let him for fear of his blood sugar dropping or going too high. This created behavior challenges, power struggles, and my husband and I to double down on control. We saw it as an effort to keep him alive, he saw it as preventing him from living.
Of course looking back on it now, I can see where all of the behavior challenges were just our son’s attempt to communicate with us about his own struggles that he couldn’t express verbally. Instead, we took him to many doctors, specialists, and experts looking for help. Some offered relief for a short bit, but none of them got to the root of the problem, they only solved for one small part. None of them saw the whole picture. I wanted to fix him, when really I needed to check myself and how I was engaging in the relationship. Once I learned how to slow down, engage differently, and learn how to listen, everything changed.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a parent coach and child mindfulness instructor.
I work with parents to reclaim presence inside their parenthood, lead with curiosity, and create success through embodied leadership.
I am known for not trying to fix parents or their children through quick hacks, but really orienting the relationship to a different perspective than the one they’ve been operating under; dissolving the challenges. This leaves space for parents to lead they way that feels best for them, children to feel seen and heard, and overall a more secure connection between parent and child. I believe this sets me apart from others in my field.
I also work as a child mindfulness instructor. Through play, mindfulness, emotional learning, and connection, I help children build the human skills they’ll rely on for the rest of their lives, while giving parents the reassurance that they’re not carrying this journey alone.
I am most proud of the work I do to empower both parents and children to feel seen and heard, form healthier relationships, and change the future of their family in doing so.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
It’s hard to choose one, but I really loved our “Mock Rocks” with the kids in the neighborhood. We would practice skits to popular songs, lip sync them (sometimes really sing them), dress up, and perform them for the adults. Of course, my younger brothers were enlisted to be the guitarist and drummer for the big performance. We thought we were so cool.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kristinschmoke.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristin.schmoke.parenting/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/kristinschmokecoaching
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-schmoke-208191146/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kristinschmokecoaching6695
