The Parenting : A Research Based Preventative Intervention For Support Families By Using Discussion And Activities

In this day in age there are various approaches to raising children. Each parent(s) must decide for them selves which style best fits their beliefs and abilities. Many parents come to the conclusion that they will try their best and just hope that their children learn right from wrong and the abilities they need to succeed in life. However, what most parents do not always realize is that the style of parenting they are using may have a bigger impact on their child than they are aware of. For the sake of these parents and their sanity, as well as the children’s, I have classified these styles of parenting into categories.

Establishing positive parenting skills within the community will assist the parents in gaining new alternatives to their current practices. “Often we get the same families that are repeat offenders or they never really learn their ways of parenting are not acceptable” (Ruiz, 2015). Providing the “Strong Families” curriculum will reduce the number of children that are

1. History of Agency: Since 2007, the dedicated counselors and parent support workers at Together Lives Change (TLC) have been supporting families by helping to provide support planning and family asset management. Their goal is to help families find better ways to manage family life. They assist with preventing or eliminating the need for out of home placement of children by enhancing parental functioning.

With over three hundred million Americans and over six billion people worldwide parenting skills are essential to maintain a healthy society. Parenting involves many aspects and requires many skills. It is a time to nurture, instruct, and correct to develop fundamental skills children will need to be mature, responsible, and contributing adults to a society. There are four commonly identified parenting styles; authoritarian, authoritative, permissive, and uninvolved parenting. Of the four parenting styles, two remain on opposite ends of the parenting spectrum. These two styles; authoritarian, and permissive both have deleterious results that are often visible throughout different developmental stages, such as rebellious behavior. As well

They serve as a framework for clinical assessment and can be applied to the individual, family, and community. Through this framework, data is collected and assessed, allowing for the application of nursing diagnoses and interventions that encompass a holistic view of the client. There are 11 patterns, and within each pattern there are four focal areas.

“Behavior problems (e.g., aggression, oppositional behaviors, separation anxiety) in young children ages 5 years and younger are common and often begin in the toddler and preschool years” (Fung, Fox, & Harris, 2014 p.623; as cited in Fox & Holtz, 2009). Unfortunately, Fung et al. (2014) found that there are some at-risk young children whose behavior problems fail to dissolve. If not treated, these conduct issues frequently form into more serious psychiatric side effects as children advance into adolescence and adulthood, and regularly induce future cycles of violence (as cited in Campbell, 2002; Einfeld et al., 2006; Robert, Mazzucchelli, Studman, & Sanders, 2006). Fortunately, there are programs available to help at-risk young children with behavior problems. One of those programs is called Early Pathways (EP). EP is a therapy program that takes place in the home of the child and their parents (Fung et al., 2014). Fung et al. decided to incorporate the EP program into their study to find out if the program would be successful for the 447 at-risk children ages 5 and younger who were participating in the study. The article by Fung et al. offers direction for creating successful early-mediation for families of low-income to improve behavior results for their children.

Empathy is a critical component in the helping process. In order to provide effective services, social workers must possess an emphatic and culturally competent approach to assessments and interventions within practice settings. In an effort to assess and evaluate how cultural and empathy applies to practice, I endeavored to interview a social service provider who works to provide support and resources to a culturally diverse client population.

There are very few affordable solutions that parents can use at home to assist them in making sound parenting decisions when their child displays ODD behavior. Recently, a program was developed to assist parents who are searching for solutions,

Children will be randomized at baseline to either receive parent training or teaching. Measures will be taken biweekly by independent clinician and compared at the end of the 12 week trial to determine if the results of the individual participants proved to be positive or not and to evaluate the effectiveness of training versus a classroom environment when teaching parents behavior modification strategies.

Family support: Regular playtimes and mealtimes together as a family. Time outs when there is problem. Reinforce rules and encourage good behavior. Teach the child appropriate anger management. Give the child to make choices. Take time for yourself with your partner.

Therefore, parent education programs aim to increase parental knowledge of child development, assist parents in developing their parenting skills and normalising the challenges and difficulties faced in parenting (Sanders et al, 2000). Tomison (1998) states that parent education programs are currently an essential part of early intervention with vulnerable or at risk families. Keep Them Safe continues to fund and provide the Triple P parenting course to all parents with children 3-8 years. The Positive Parenting Program is evidence based and designed to help parents make changes to improve their parenting skills through seminars and groups. Parents are able to sign up voluntarily, can be referred by a GP, counsellor or welfare agency. This program is designed to build positive relationships between children and parents. It helps parents use simple routines to address conflict and provides tips on how to deal with problem behaviours as children develop (Sanders, n.d). A study on the Australian Triple P program found that all three levels of the program reduced child disruptive behaviour by improving parenting skills. This then has the assumed follow- on effect of reducing the child’s vulnerability to maltreatment and decreasing parental potential for maltreatment (Sanders,

The findings of all four interventions presented above have demonstrated their effectiveness in addressing their respective goals. PACE/CANNES gave parents tools to better address practical parenting issues and promote child-competence, in the follow-up assessment these parents reported having an increase in positive parenting skills and a reduced risk of child abuse.

In the beginning of this class, I knew very little on how to effectively assist children and families at risk. Now, I feel suitable enough to provide support with the strategies I learned from my classmates and the class reading materials from this term. Effective programs that are designed to help children and families at risk share a common theme which is growth. As a future elementary teacher, I am grateful for the information I learned in this class because I now know how to provide valuable support. However, the three biggest challenges when working with families at risk are attempting to persuade parents to make a positive change, knowing what is completely going on in their home, and trying to achieve all goals. However, I believe by offering support to the family, we are doing everything in our power to help by providing opportunities.

Parenting is a process of supporting children through the ups and downs of life. From infancy to adulthood, parents play an important role in the development of their children. They are expected to ensure the child’s health and safety, prepare them to function as citizens of society, and teach them about what is important in life. Many parents learn how to parent by looking at the way they were raised. However, with the stresses and strains that families face today, it is also a good idea to be open to adding parenting tools to their toolbox. These tools are taught at places such as a parent education group for ex-offenders. Most of them have children of various ages. A social worker leads the group to enhance their knowledge and skill sets and share topics such as being present in the child’s life, praising a child, effective discipline, and unconditional love.

Santrock (2010) gives the advice for parents stating “ recognize that the quality of your parenting is a key factor in your child’s development…..parents should observe for themselves whether their children seen to be having behavior problems”. (p.372)