Every day is a new opportunity for connection.

Hi, I’m Karen Netzel. I’m passionate about rethinking parenting and education, and believe overcoming adultism and choosing connection is the key to more ease, calm and joy in family life, as well as lasting social change and a more peaceful world.

I offer support to parents who want to do it differently. I’m a philologist, linguist, mum and twin mum of three bilingual teens and self-directed learners.

I can support you in finding peaceful and respectful ways to connect with your kids and build strong relationships, so that you can be the parent you want to be, with confidence, ease and joy.

Individual support  Online courses and community

How we can work together

Karen Netzel

Hi, I’m Karen

If you want more ease, calm and joy in family life, I can offer you a fresh perspective: from power struggles, frustration and overwhelm to more connection, the confidence to handle the challenges of everyday parenting and build strong relationships with your kids.

Be the parent you want to be and create the family life you’ve always wanted!

Read more about my journey here.

See what parents are saying about working with me

Thank you for the support and helpful tips for a more connected and respectful family life!
It’s been a great learning curve and probably will be for a good while… but the positive outcome is the best motivation!
Stephanie, a daughter (3 yrs)

Feeling overwhelmed with three children under the age of two, we signed up for the Understanding Toddlers & Preschoolers course. Mealtimes were difficult, bedtimes were difficult. We were unhappy with the situation, and ourselves, and wanted things to improve. Now, after the course, we understand our children more and can respond better to their needs. The situations at mealtimes and bedtimes have also changed. We’re all more relaxed… The course is worth it! Even if you think you’re already doing a good job, you’ll learn something new.

Michael, three daughters (2, 2 & 1 yrs)

I got a lot of new ideas on how to better connect with my child. The course also explained the difference between the old way of raising children with punishment and a new way with connection. It was mind blowing!

Céline, two daughters (4 & 5 yrs)

Karen is providing digestible and concise content, and makes it personal with examples from her own experience. The task sheets are so valuable because you find out lots about your own struggles and triggers. She gives you tools to work with your own anger and how to fulfil your unmet needs so you can be there to support your children as good as possible. I would recommend this course to anyone who would like to communicate without judgement and to make this world a friendlier place.

Stephanie, two daughters (3 yrs & 4 months)

The transition from primary school to high school, in parallel to quarantine, reduced working hours and having building work done, pushed me to my limits with my two children. Now I reflect more than before and can see the needs behind the behaviour. After the first sparks fly, I’m able shift into an empathic response relatively quickly. It’s worth it and the course fee is better invested than in buying new clothes.

Katja, two daughters (5 & 10 yrs)
It‘s been really helpful and supportive for us to get some feedback and to be able to rethink our methods of parenting.
We‘ve had a really positive experience and spoke about how much we enjoyed it, felt comfortable and how open it was.
Connor, a daughter (3 yrs)

I realised I’d tended to leave the relationships with our children to my wife. I wanted to change that and understand my children better. I now believe I can react better in everyday situations. I recognised some old, ingrained patterns from my childhood that were preventing me from connecting with my kids.

Dale, three children (8, 10 & 10 yrs)

It feels like we – my son and I – have less battles following the course. I always try to keep in mind that he wants to cooperate with me and that opens up other perspectives: to stop for a moment, respond to my child, see what’s going on with him, see his feelings, just to enjoy him….

Tanja, a son (3 yrs)

I felt like I didn’t understand my daughter’s behavior, why she acted out, what was bothering her, etc. I felt helpless.
Now I feel like I understand that there is a connection between the behavior and the real issue behind it. The realization that there is something behind the behavior is huge. Now I am aware….. There still is a lot of work to do but the first step is knowing what I have to do. I feel like I have the tools to help me.

Sarah, a daughter (7 yrs)

The course changed our family life, my relationship with my husband and with our daughter, for the better. I’m very happy and grateful that I was able to participate in your course. I had a lot of ahas in the last few weeks. In the last few months, I felt completely lacking in peace and calm, but was able to find it again in your course. I’ve noticed I can see many situations differently and understand my daughter more, which makes me feel better, lighter and happier.

Anna, a daughter (2 yrs)

Totally fabulous! You are really wonderful; very approachable, easy to connect with online. I felt immediately comfortable being vulnerable with you about my parenting insecurities, and trusted your experience. It’s clear that you are a pro, you asked very insightful and clarifying questions. I felt immediately understood and supported, and left with real and actionable info.

Chrissy, a daughter (6 yrs)

Before we started coaching, I asked myself: will it really help? For me, the first step was to realise that help was needed. During coaching, I felt safe and had no worries. It’s clear to me that you have to be open yourself for change to happen.  You’re part of the system and can only change in small steps. Often you fall back into patterns of behaviour. Having an outside perspective helps. It’s easier as an observer ;-) In conflict situations, I now ask: What’s the need? Is it about not feeling safe? It helps me deal with it better. It’s simple. Precise terms like “need”, “feeling safe and secure”, “transition”, “connection”. That’s when it “clicked” :-) You created a friendly atmosphere, which is necessary to open up. Your input was invaluable and you responded very well to situations we described.

Michael, a son (5 yrs)

We were stuck in a cycle with our son, constantly reacting to his behaviour and feeling a little hopeless as parents not knowing what to do for the best.
We now have a better understanding of our son’s behaviour, how our own stress and childhood experiences manifest in our treatment of our children, what our children are ‘telling’ us in their actions, and a set of tools to manage.
Amazing! Don’t know how we would have moved forward without you.

Matt, two children (9 & 5 yrs)

I would definitely recommend the Connect with Your Child course. It will bring peace and understanding to your parenting. I loved the explanations Karen used while describing the behaviour interpretation. She also helped to change my mindset about parenting in a very practical way. She is able to explain the topic easily and understandably within the context of everyday situations.

Jana, two children (4 & 5 yrs)

I can totally recommend the Connect with Your Child course. Karen has a profound knowledge and explains everything in an easy way. I made a big step forward. I am more confident, all the info was very, very helpful. Thank you!

Heike

So, so fabulous! I’ve found the paradigm shifts that we discussed really informing my mindset during some challenging behaviors/emotional states that have come up around the end of the school year!  So fantastic!

Chrissy, a daughter (6 yrs)

Working with Karen really helped me!
Karen’s very likeable and had a way of making me feel very comfortable. As a coach, she not only shared her knowledge but saw me as as a person. She connected with me on a personal level, which enabled me to build trust. She was well prepared for our sessions and introduced each topic thoughtfully, which I think is really important when talking about emotional topics like children, being a mum, and relationships. She listened carefully to me and was attuned to my way of thinking. Karen has a great deal of expert knowledge and offered new ways of seeing things that all made a lot of sense to me. I left our coaching sessions with lots of new ways of thinking as well as a concrete idea of what I could do differently in our everyday family life. I always felt as though she was listening to me and that she was hearing me. That was very helpful and exactly what I want as a client.

Susanne, two children (6 & 2 yrs)
I am so happy with your course. It makes me think so much about my relationships at home (and also outside) and it motivates me to change. I really want to thank you for guiding us through this huge positive transformation in our way to see and feel the world.
Lis, a son (5 yrs)

Karen’s a great personality! I know few people who communicate so respectfully with children. She really helped me with my concerns.

Susanne, two children (6 & 2 yrs)

Karen’s very empathetic and a great coach who finds wonderful words.

Tamara, three children (7, 5 & 3 yrs)

Can highly recommend! Karen’s great!

Judith, a son (6 yrs)

The course was very valuable for me. After just one module, I was able to see our daily routine and the way our child was behaving in a different light. I could see why she was behaving in that way and understand what she really needed. We made a small adjustment to our daily routine, which had the big effect that now I and my kids can start our day less stressed, happier and feeling more connected to each other.

Saša, two children (4 & 1 yrs)

I wanted to improve how my son and I communicated. I now observe him more. When he gets angry, I’m able to keep calm. I feel more confident and more understood. I got a lot of food for thought, tips and also reassurance. It was definitely worth it. I really enjoyed it.

Ilona, a son (7 yrs)

Ready to choose connection for more ease, calm and joy in family life?

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