Ep #165: Parenting styles and why our evidence-based skills work

Do you want to be the best parent you can be? Smarter Parenting is here to help you! Smarter Parenting teaches parents the best evidenced-based and researched parenting skills that focus on helping parents raise resilient, well-rounded, and successful kids.  Our goal is to help strengthen and improve relationships while giving our children the tools to navigate their lives successfully.  The skills on Smarter Parenting have been used for over 50 years by agencies worldwide to help families succeed. The skills work with children of all ages and abilities. They will work with your child too! There is a lot of parenting styles and advice out there. Some of it good. Some of it not so helpful. On extreme ends of the spectrum, two common parenting styles are authoritative parenting and permissive parenting. These parenting styles can teach our children unwanted lessons and long-term behavior. Science has proven that a parenting style somewhere in the middle is the most effective.  The most significant difference between Smarter Parenting and other parenting styles is our focus on teaching. While we would love our children to know how to behave or listen to us or make the right decisions, those things do not always come naturally. We have to show them how to do it.  The skills Smarter Parenting teaches shows parents how to be both firm and kind while teaching our children what is expected of them. Children need boundaries as boundaries make them feel safe and a sense of the world. They also need compassion and understanding as they learn how to deal with new emotions and situations. The best way parents can learn to be better is through skills that balance firmness and kindness. The skills found on Smarter Parenting teach parents how to do just that. The skills are universal and give parents the confidence to handle any parenting situation with compassion, understanding, and fairness.  The skills we teach at SmarterParenting.com are: THE ABC'S OF BEHAVIOR: Helping parents understand why behavior happens and what they can do about it.  OBSERVE AND DESCRIBE: Helping parents remove emotions from situations, and a child knows exactly what they are doing. ROLE-PLAYING: This helps a child understands how to react in situations by teaching how they should behave. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION: Helping families communicate so that everyone feels appreciated and valued. EFFECTIVE PRAISE: Helping a child feel valued and seen. PREVENTIVE TEACHING: Preparing a child for future situations that may be difficult or tricky for them to navigate. FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS: Getting a child to listen, do and take responsibility. CORRECTING BEHAVIORS: Correcting a child when they've done something wrong in a way that strengthens, not damages relationships.  DECISION MAKING (SODAS METHOD): Teaching a child to make better decisions by seeing the pros and cons. EFFECTIVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES: Reducing negative behavior by encouraging a child to learn instead of punishing them.  EFFECTIVE POSITIVE REWARDS: Encouraging repeat positive behavior by acknowledging what they are doing well.  The skills we teach on Smarter Parenting are all free. Check them out today!