Parent Coaching & Consultation
The intentional
middle — parenting
for the long game.
Sound familiar?
- The screen battle that happens every single day
- The mealtime that ends in a standoff — or just giving in
- The meltdown you saw coming but couldn’t stop
- The bedtime routine that works until it doesn’t
These moments pull parents toward the extremes — give in completely or clamp down hard. Raising kids into competent, confident adults happens in neither of those places. It happens in the intentional middle, where choices are deliberate, limits are sustainable, and kids learn to navigate real life. Parent coaching and consultation — based in Southern Maine, rooted in New England, and working virtually with parents everywhere.
Free guide — start here
Screens with Intention: 5 Small Shifts Toward More Balanced Technology Use at Home
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Colleen Fradette · LCPC · LMHC
How it works
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Sign up above for the free guide and occasional practical tips. No noise — just useful things when they’re ready.
Coaching spots open this fall
Not taking new clients right now — but the waitlist is open. Sign up and you’ll hear first when spots become available.
Work together
Regular virtual sessions to build the skills, work through the moments, and make intentional changes that last — wherever you’re parenting from.
The idea
What is intentional parenting?
Kids learn moderation by living it. The goal isn’t perfect parenting — it’s intentional parenting: making choices that align with your family’s values and the adults your kids are becoming. When parents find the moderate middle, kids learn to live there too. That’s where self-sufficiency, resilience, and real confidence come from.
The middle matters now more than ever, because it’s where critical thinking is built. Living between the extremes means learning to see the different sides that exist and hold two truths in tension — the skill kids need to make their own choices and form their own beliefs. In a time when so much of what we and our kids see is chosen for us, and tends to confirm what we already believe, raising kids who can weigh perspectives for themselves may be the most important preparation we can give them.
For your kids
Children who grow up between the extremes develop the skills to handle real life — frustration, disappointment, and success alike — without falling apart or shutting down.
For you
The moderate middle isn’t just better for kids — it’s more sustainable for parents. Less reactive. Less rigid. You can actually live it, which means you’ll actually keep doing it.
For the long game
Every choice is an opportunity to ask: does this align with who we want our kids to become? Long-term thinking changes how short-term decisions feel.
Screens & schools
Screens at school, screens at home — one conversation.
Technology isn’t just a home decision anymore. Chromebooks in classrooms, learning apps for homework, school-issued devices coming home in backpacks — computers and screens in schools have changed what parents are navigating, and most families never got a say in it.
Here’s the thing: you may not set your school’s technology policy, but you’re not powerless — many districts offer opt-out options and ways to reduce screen-based learning for your child, and you fully control what screens mean in your home. Kids don’t need a screen-free childhood — they need adults who model and teach intentional technology use. When school-day screen time is a given, the hours at home matter more, not less.
This is a core focus of my work — helping parents build a home technology culture that’s deliberate rather than reactive, one that works alongside whatever your school district decides, not against it. Start with the free guide, or bring your specific screen challenge to coaching this fall.
How we work
Four areas. One
connected system.
None of these work in isolation — the connection you build is what makes the limits land, and your own regulation is what makes both possible.
Connection
Connection strong enough that kids stay open to your guidance. The relationship is what makes everything else work.
Structure & expectations
Clarity kids can feel and rely on. Not rigid rules — a readable, consistent environment they can learn to navigate.
Steady leadership
Consistency without escalation. Calm isn’t a personality type — it’s a skill, and it’s learnable.
Emotion regulation
Emotion regulation for parents is where this work starts — yours first, then theirs. Kids co-regulate with the adults closest to them, which means your steadiness is the starting point, not a nice-to-have.
About Colleen
I try to live in the moderate middle too.
I’m a mom of three, which means I live this work every day, not just professionally. My kids are very different from one another, and what each of them needs from me isn’t always the same. The goals stay consistent, but the way I show up often shifts. Same values, same expectations, same love — different child, different approach.
My background started in the juvenile justice system — working closely with teens in a secure facility. That experience made one thing clear: kids need both connection and accountability, and the adults in their lives matter more than any program ever will.
The goal isn’t to raise kids who comply. It’s to raise kids who grow into capable, confident adults — connected to their own values.Now in private practice, I work primarily with parents and families as a parent coach and parenting consultant. Over time, I’ve become increasingly interested in helping the adults around children create the conditions that support healthy development. My work focuses on helping parents build the skills, structure, and relationships that help kids grow into capable adults who can navigate challenges, take responsibility, and stay connected to who they are. I live and work in Southern Maine — and because coaching is virtual, I work with intentional parents wherever they are.
Questions parents ask
Parent coaching, answered.
What is the difference between parent coaching and therapy?
Therapy is a licensed clinical service that diagnoses and treats mental health conditions, often looking at the past to understand the present. Parent coaching is forward-looking and skills-based: we work on specific, present-day parenting challenges — screens, routines, limits, big emotions — and build practical strategies you can use right away. Coaching is not a clinical relationship and isn’t covered by insurance. If what your family needs is therapy, I’ll say so and help you find it.
What is intentional parenting?
Intentional parenting means making parenting choices deliberately, guided by your family’s values and the future adult you’re raising — rather than reacting moment to moment or defaulting to either permissiveness or control. It’s not a rigid method. It’s a way of asking, at each decision point: does this align with who we want our kids to become? It’s also how critical thinkers are raised — kids who live between the extremes learn to see different sides, hold two truths in tension, and form their own beliefs.
How do I manage my child’s screen time?
Start with intention rather than restriction. Most screen battles come from unclear expectations, not too many minutes. Decide what screens are for in your home, make the structure visible and predictable, and hold limits calmly — connection first, then the boundary. My free guide, Screens with Intention, walks through five small shifts that make technology use more balanced without turning your home into a battleground.
Do you only work with parents in Maine and Massachusetts?
No. My licensed therapy practice is limited to Maine and Massachusetts, but parent coaching isn’t a licensed clinical service — so coaching is available virtually to parents anywhere. I’m based in Southern Maine, and I work with families across New England and beyond.
Is parent coaching covered by insurance?
No. Coaching is not a clinical or therapeutic service and is not billable to insurance. That’s part of what keeps it flexible, practical, and focused entirely on your goals.
Start here
Ready to find
the intentional middle?
Free guide, newsletter tips, and first access when parent coaching spots open this fall.
The intentional middle — parenting for the long game.