Raising or caring for young children is a demanding job. Parents and other caregivers often struggle when children demonstrate challenging behavior. This article provides guiding principles and specific strategies that professionals and parents can use to gain insight into children's behavior and make positive changes in their daily interactions.

What causes challenging behavior and what can adults do about it? That is a basic question parents and caregivers face everyday. Some needs are easy to meet, others take more work, and some require outside help. This article is the fourth and final segment of a multi-part series about dealing with Challenging Behavior, both at home and school. The…

Single parenthood as a common psychosocial phenomenon seems to be regarded as one of the most significant issues in the psychological domain and needs to be taken into serious consideration due to emotional, psychological, and social problems created by it. With regard to the rapidly growing population of single parents and their children…

Describes a parent education program for parents of young children with behavioral difficulties. Objectives were to teach parents (1) the STAR (stop, think and ask, and respond) parenting technique; (2) strategies for dealing with behavior problems; and (3) the process of setting reasonable expectations. Parents rated the program highly. (GLR)

An "in vivo" direct instruction procedure involving the therapist working directly with parents to provide immediate consequences for a child's noncompliant behavior was used. Following training, improvements in correct responding of parents was evident. When assessing parents' initial skill level, child compliance was not found to be an accurate…

Psychologists, counselors, social workers, clergy, teachers, and others are often in the position of needing to train parents in parenting skills, particularly in the area of discipline. "The Discipline Package" offers a succinct plan for parents to follow involving three steps. Each step is described, along with options for responding…

Externalizing behaviors are a common component of the clinical presentation of Autism Spectrum Disorders and are typically the initial focus of treatment for children within this population. This article examines the appropriateness of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) as a first-line, gateway treatment for preschoolers with High Functioning…

Child compliance is an important skill for young children to develop. It is often the focus of intervention efforts. This paper presents a six week program for professionals to use in parent training. At each week, new parenting skills are taught and utilized in real life child compliance situations. Data collection is built into the six-week…

This study investigated the immediate impact of an 8-month center- and home-based prevention program for preschoolers at high risk for conduct problems. We report immediate program effects on observed and self-rated parenting practices and observed child behavior with peers. Ninety-nine preschool-age siblings of adjudicated youths and their…

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999) has been found effective in treating a wide number of psychological conditions affecting adults. To date, however, little research has been done on the use of ACT with youth and parents. Few efforts have been made at summarizing the literature that does exist. This article,…

This publication, resulting from a survey of more than 2,000 school districts, focuses on school violence and ways to prevent it. Section 1 discusses both the problem of school violence and also the critical role that school boards must play in keeping schools safe. This section also includes information about how school boards can develop…

The What Works Briefs are a series of short, easy-to-read, "how-to" information packets designed to: (1) promote practices that support young children's social and emotional development and prevent challenging behaviors; (2) highlight practices, strategies, and intervention procedures that have been found to effectively prevent and address…

This paper presents the details of a parent training program for families of children with comorbid ADHD/ODD. The goal of the training is to develop specific parenting skills that promote pro-social compliance and decrease disruptive child behavior. There are two parts to the parent training program. First, a theoretical framework of interactions…

Behavioural family intervention is effective for the prevention and treatment of a wide range of emotional and behavioural problems in children. There is a growing need to address the accessibility of these services. This paper reviews the literature on self-directed interventions designed to help parents manage difficult child behaviours.…

Describes a 22-week family intervention program designed to prevent antisocial behavior in urban minority children. Presents a theoretical model for strengthening critical family processes related to the emergence of antisocial behavior. Describes specific intervention goals, modalities, and activities. Provides recommendations for development,…