The Analysis of the Positive Parenting Programme - Essay Example

Parenting Intervention: Positive Parenting Programme The case of Jamie Christine is a single parent who split with her partner. She is a full time mother to her two children. She has a seven year old son called Jamie and a nine year old daughter known as Kenzy.Her son is the only man in their lives. Jamie craves attention and wants to be an actor, thus his mother has brought him a lot of action DVDs for watching action movies. Jamie is addicted to these DVDs and computer games which have made him to be terribly obsessed with knives and weapons just like he sees in the movies. He seems to practice everything he watches. He uses foul language and has got frequent violent outbursts of anger. Jamie does not do anything he does not want to. He seems to have his own way and his mother has devised cunning diversion ways to have him do his home work. Jamie also often attacks his sister by pulling her down from the seat. Jamie’s behaviour has gotten so out of control that his mother has to bribe him to have him behave, which is a win for Jamie since he will get his favorite DVDs. Christine on the other side does not listen to her son. She wrestles him to get things out of his hands. When he attacks her, she attacks back. She shouts back at him whenever he uses foul language or does something wrong. Christine also quarrels with Jamie and at times bribes him by promising to bring him DVDs if he behaves well. Christine also uses a lot of force on him if he does not behave the way she wants.Jamie’s behaviour has so traumatised the family that there is no peace when Jamie is around. Christine feels hopeless and almost giving up on him until she gets to hear of Triple P. The following are some of the parenting skills and strategies that would be helpful to this case of Jamie and his mother; 1.Spending quality time with children-This strategy should be done such that the parents are having frequent, brief amounts of time in activities that the child is interested in and its suitable for children of all ages. 2. Direct discussion-A parent should identify and rehearse appropriate behaviour.S/he should always have conversations with children about their activities and interests. Thus a parent should get involved in what his/her children are doing. This action is suitable for children of ages 3-12. 3. Planned ignoring-this involves intentionally ignoring problem behaviour instead of reacting or giving negative attention to the child. This activity is recommended for years 1-7. 4. Using descriptive language-always make sure you provide encouragement by describing the behaviour or action that is appreciated. This activity is suitable for all ages. 5. Giving clear, calm instructions-this can be done by giving a clear instruction to begin a new task, or to stop problem behaviour and start the appropriate alternative behaviour. This is recommended for ages 2-12 years. 6. Quiet time-When a problematic or serious problem occurs and the above strategies do not work, the child should be moved to the edge of the activity for a brief, set amount of time and then later return child to activity when s/he is calm so s/he can try again. Practical Application 1. Spending quality time with Jamie Christine should spend frequent brief moments with Jamie especially in the activities that he is interested. She can bring him some DVDs that are less violent and then they can sit and watch together. This way she will have him under control.Psycholigically, learning depends mostly on experience and usually leads to long term adjustments in behaviour potential. Thus applying this method to Jamie will make him learn proper behaviour as time goes and in the long run he will change for better. 2. Having direct discussions with Jamie Christine should endeavour to have regular direct conversations with Jamie. She should look for interesting stories that Jamie is interested in and talk to him about them. She should always identify and rehearse the activities that make Jamie happy and make sure she bonds with him. This strategy will also slowly but surely change Jamie with time. It will become an experience in itself and will impact positively on him. 3. Planned ignoring As a mother, Christine should intentionally ignore problem behaviour instead of reacting or giving negative attention to what Jamie does. This could be in form of pretending not to notice when Jamie begins to kick around. This strategy will make Jamie get bored since no one is interested in his activities. Kids like attention and if you ignore their activities, they are bound to stop whatever it is they are doing. Planned ignoring will make Jamie shift from the problem behaviour to the desired behaviour since no one will appreciate or notice him when he does something wrong. With time he will change for better. 4. Christine should also make use of descriptive praise to Jamie Christine should constantly praise Jamie when he does something good. For example if he does his homework on time she can use a good descriptive term like that was “Wholesome! Excellent!”Or that was,” very good of you Jamie! Keep it up!”Such praise is wonderful and music to children’s ears and Jamie is no exception. Again going back to the learning theory Jamie will from experience learn that good behaviour makes mum appreciate and cheer him, and since he craves attention, this will make him want to act good most of the time so mum can see and thus commend him. This will sink into his head and he will get used to it with time. 5. Giving clear, calm instructions-Christine should make it a habit to give a clear instruction to begin a new task to Jamie or else to stop problem behaviour and start the appropriate alternative behaviour. She should be able to set simple and clear instructions which should be followed by everybody in the house including herself. This will lead to strict adherence of the same and once Jamie gets used to it then it will stick in him forever. 6. Quiet time. If the above strategies do not work on Jamie, Christine should move the child to the edge of the activity for a brief, set amount of time, and then return him to activity when he is calm so he can try again. This strategy will help Jamie cool offer and make him regain his composure. Taking him to a new environment means he will be distracted and thus will temporarily forget what it is that was making him exhibit problem behaviour. References Collins W A, M. E. (2000). Contemporary reseach on parenting:the case for nature and nurture,55(2),218. New York: American Psycchologist. J, B. (1984). The determinants of Parenting:a process model.Child development,55(1),83-96. New York. Jamie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ACcywo2980 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5g20nXqU68 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R930wRNlULM Read More