Should I pay this much for one to one coaching?

No, I understand that you don’t want to get into specifics for the purposes of anonymity.
I suppose, in a nutshell, you’ve described what my concerns about the rise in all these coaches is.
There are obviously people who have longstanding careers in relevant fields, with professional qualifications (so psychology, social work, health visitor etc). But there are many many more out there who have paid to take a course, run by someone else who has taken a course, they’re good with social media and marketing and they take off as a coach…

I agree. That's a dodgy tactic and also expensive for the course giver, so he must be expecting a lot back.

Ooh yes please. If you send me your bank account details, home address, passport number and mother's maiden name, I'll ping you the first payment.

My qualifications are based on previous employment (20 years) related to working with children and families. Sorry not being specific because I don't want to identify myself.

Basically anyone can call themselves a coach so the important thing is to understand the qualifications and experience of the individual. I would not be a good coach without my experience, there are lots of coaches who's only experience is doing a course and having their own kids. I'm sure some are amazing but it makes me uncomfortable. The hooking people with free courses, particularly a long one like in this instance, doesn't feel right to me.

£200 an hour for coaching is pretty standard if it's a trained professional in a speciifc area. I know leadership coaches charge this amount. However, it is what you are willing to pay for a change and whether this will help with what you need it to?

Life coaches I would be weary of as you can do minimal training online and peg yourself as one. Leadership/nutritional coaches have done extensive training with actual qualifications for example.

My cousin works in this sort of area (not coaching but a similar set up), mainly does group sessions and international events. He’s often asked to do one to ones, which take up time and he doesn’t really enjoy, so he sets his prices high knowing that most people will be put off, and the few who do go ahead make it worth his while for the background work involved.

Maybe this is a similar situation?

For that kind of money I’d want some impressive qualifications to substantiate his purported experience.

Like I said in the post above, only qualification seems to be parenting coaching and training other coaches.

I’d want considerably more education than that for £200 a session. I have 13 years of university behind me, two professional qualifications and a Masters specialism and don’t charge half of that. It’s not difficult to get into training others if you’re a good communicator with a bit of knowledge and a good network.

“Training other coaches” sounds like a red flag for MLM. He should be leading with his success rather than how many others he’s recruited. This guy stinks.

Sorry, but you’d be a complete mug to pay him for that. It sounds like he is brainwashing you to make you think that you need these paid extra sessions which are vastly expensive and overpriced. .

Post his name here and people will assess his bona fides for you

If you've had 5 weeks of him, would you consider paying for a couple of sessions with a psychologist or family therapist who specializes in parenting to compare before investing?

Out of curiosity (genuine not being snarky as that doesn’t always come across on mn). What are the qualifications for becoming a parent coach? What is the professional background there?

That's a great post by @Almaya

That's what I was getting at, even taking into account that you're paying self employed rates, that it's harder for them to get a 37hr week etc, £200 p/hr is more than what we pay for the absolute experts in their field, when we're dealing with the most vulnerable children and require a level that can go before the family court.

Also we'd never pay a 4k block, it would be much more likely to agree to say, 8 sessions and a review and then consider if further sessions were needed. The fixed term does seem dodgy, other than a way for this coach to guarantee their income for a few months.

In your position I would refuse the repeat offer and say you would like to arrange one session at a time. Thinking about it, this approach advantages him and not you.

I'm a parenting coach. I am very well qualified. I think it's unethical to suck people in with free programmes/courses and push them to spend a huge amount up front. I don't offer discounts for block bookings because it is hard to know when the work will be done. Some people are on a budget and can only manage a limited amount of sessions I keep things really focused, others want ongoing support. I am flexible to what the family needs rather than what is best for me financially and I don't want them to spend any more than they need to.

This isn't an advert. I use Mumsnet as a parent and wouldn't want to blur those boundaries. But I wanted to give you and idea of what other coaches offer so you understand that you don't have to sign up to this type of programme.

@Alacartemenu Is he asking you to pay the full amount up front?

Just because they’re well known doesn’t mean they’re effective - could just mean they’re manipulative.