About | Beneath the Moment

Hi, I'm Isaac.

I'm the founder of Beneath the Moment, a parent coaching practice built around something I've become increasingly interested in over the past several years: how our experiences shape who we become, and how understanding those experiences can help us make more intentional choices in our lives.

I believe that much of what we struggle with as adults has roots in things we learned long
before we could fully understand them. The ways we respond to stress, handle conflict,
express emotion, and connect with others are often influenced by experiences we barely recognize as significant.

I've seen this in my own life, and it's what eventually led me to parent coaching.

My hope with Beneath the Moment is to help parents better understand themselves and their children so they can build relationships rooted in emotional safety, trust, and genuine connection.

I grew up in Tooele, Utah, with my parents and two younger siblings. When I was seven years old, my dad's kidneys suddenly failed, beginning a long period of medical uncertainty that would shape much of our family's life.

There were countless appointments, hospital stays, emergencies, and stretches of time when we didn't know what was going to happen next.

My parents were doing everything they could to keep our family together through circumstances that were incredibly difficult for everyone involved. My mom was trying to support our family while navigating my dad's illness, and my dad was dealing with the physical and emotional toll of his declining health.

As a child, I didn't really understand what was happening or know what to do with the fear, sadness, and uncertainty I was experiencing. So I found ways to cope.

I escaped into books, video games, and schoolwork. Learning became something I could control, and being the kid who knew the right answer became an important part of how I saw myself.

At home, things were often more difficult. Our family was carrying a tremendous amount of stress, and we didn't always have the tools or emotional capacity to communicate what was happening inside us. Arguments could escalate over seemingly insignificant things. I began hiding mistakes and avoiding situations that might lead to conflict, which sometimes created even more distance between me and my parents.

For a long time, I looked back on many of those behaviors as things I had done wrong. As I got older and began reflecting more seriously on my life, I started asking different questions.

Why had I responded the way I did?

What had I been feeling underneath those behaviors?

What had I come to believe about myself and the world because of my experiences?

How I Came to This Work

I began to recognize that many of the patterns I carried into adulthood had developed when I was a child trying to navigate circumstances that felt overwhelming.

That realization changed the way I understood my own childhood. It also changed the way I look at parenting.

I started thinking about how easily a child's behavior can be misunderstood when we focus only on what they're doing. How much might be happening underneath the surface that neither the child nor the parent fully recognizes?

And what might change if parents had the awareness and support to approach those moments differently?

Those questions eventually led me to create Beneath the Moment.

What I Believe About Parenting

One of the things I've become increasingly aware of is how much we learn about ourselves through our relationships with the people who raise us.

Children are constantly making sense of their experiences. They learn what happens when they express anger, sadness, fear, or disagreement. They learn how others respond when they make mistakes, need help, or have feelings that are difficult for the adults around them.

Over time, those experiences can influence what they believe about themselves, their relationships, and what it takes to feel safe and connected.

I know from my own upbringing that parents can love their children deeply while struggling to give them the emotional support they need. My parents were navigating circumstances they never could have anticipated, doing the best they could with the resources available to them.

I believe that many families have similar experiences to mine. People bring their own histories, stresses, fears, and learned patterns into relationships with their children, often without realizing how much those things are influencing their responses.

I also believe those patterns can be influenced with intentionality, but first they need to be brought into the light and understood in order to do so.

With greater awareness, parents can begin to recognize what happens inside them during difficult moments. They can become more curious about what their children are experiencing, set boundaries while staying connected, respond with greater intention, and practice repairing the relationship when things don't go as they hoped.

I'm especially interested in the role that emotional safety plays in a child's developing sense of self. I want children to grow up knowing that their feelings are worth understanding, that they can make mistakes without losing connection, and that they don't have to hide important parts of themselves to feel loved.

Those are the kinds of relationships I hope to help parents cultivate.

My Training & Approach

My parent coaching training through the Jai Institute for Parenting has given me a framework for exploring the emotional, relational, and developmental patterns that influence parenting.

At Beneath the Moment, I combine that framework with a genuine curiosity about each person's experiences and the meaning they've made of them. I don't assume that I know your child better than you do, or that there is one correct way to
handle every parenting situation.

Our work begins with understanding what's happening in your family, including the moments that feel especially difficult. We explore the feelings, expectations, and reactions that arise for you, along with what your child may be trying to communicate through their behavior.

From there, we work toward practical changes that align with the kind of parent you want to be. That might involve noticing what happens in your body before you react, becoming more aware of the beliefs influencing your responses, learning to set limits while maintaining connection, or finding ways to repair after a difficult interaction.

I see coaching as a collaborative process. My role is to help you reflect, notice patterns, explore new perspectives, and practice responding in ways that feel more aligned with your values.

Parent coaching is distinct from therapy and does not replace mental health treatment. When something falls outside the scope of coaching, I believe it's important to recognize that and help you consider appropriate additional support.

An Invitation to Connect

If you've found yourself responding to your children in ways you don't feel good about, struggling with patterns you can't quite explain, or simply wanting to build a different kind of relationship with your family, I'd love to hear from you.

You don't need to have everything figured out before reaching out.

We can start with a free conversation about what you're experiencing, what you're hoping to change, and whether working together might be helpful.

Book a Conversation

See the roots. Choose what grows.