Relationships Matter: How clinicians can support positive parenting in the early years

Question 1

What is the ABCDE acronym when it comes to “Relationship matters”?

Answer 1

• A- Ask questions
• B- Build on each family’s relational strength
• C- Counsel with family-centred guidance
• D- Develop plans for changing behaviours related to sleep or discipline PRN
• E- Educate about positive parenting strategies

Question 2

What are the 5 key principles for the clinician’s role in supporting positive parenting?

Answer 2

(CLEAR – culture, love, encourage protective factors, aware and informed, reasons)

1. Help them build loving responsive relationships
2. Accept that there are reasons for all behaviours. Many challenging behaviours can be managed through secure parent-child relationships
3. Help mitigate the impact of early ACE by encouraging protective factors within families.
4. Recognize and respect differences (culturally safe care)
5. Be aware and informed of the parenting literature, credible websites, and books for parents

Question 3

What are typical crying behaviours?

Answer 3

• Crying can be frequent and prolonged in infants 2 weeks to 4 months of age
• Inconsolable crying is developmentally normal in this stage
  
  • Peaks at 6-8 weeks and settles by 3-4 months

Question 4

What are principles for sleep planning?

Answer 4

• Wait until 6 months of age before intervention
• Encourage self soothing
  
  • sleep routine: bath, book, bed
  • no bottle in bed, do not overstimulate
• Gradually withdraw parental attention at bedtime
• Calming bedime routine
• Be active during day and after dinner but not 2 hours before bed
• better sleep hygiene for daytime naps will have fewer night-time awakenings

Question 5

What is positive discipline?

Answer 5

• Use positive discipline rather than punishment
• offer comfort proactively to child before they lose emotional control
• ABCs of positive discipline
  
  • Antecedents - what event precede problem behaviour
  • Behaviours
  • Consequences

Question 6

What are positive parenting strategies?

Answer 6

• Time in - Connect then Redirect
  
  • 2 principles of redirection: wait until child and parent ready to re-engage, be consistent without being rigid
• REDIRECT
  
  • Reduce words
  • Embrace emotions
  • Describe without lecturing
  • Involve child in discipline
  • Reframe a No into a Yes
  • Emphasize the positives
  • Creatively approach discipline strategies
  • Teach