I’ve borrowed some from the library. It’s a little funny to read parenting books since I am not a parent, but besides books for teachers, where else do you find practical behavior management strategies? So far, 1-2-3 Magic might be one to invest in. I’ve taken some notes on it already & most of the tactics are, from my viewpoint, spot on. There are only a couple of things that I might do differently, but the principles behind them are very sound.

The author, Thomas Phelan, Ph.D, says that there are really only two kinds of behaviors that present problems for parents: Stop & Start Behaviors.

Stop behaviors are things like whining, teasing, tantruming, and yelling. In most situations involving these behaviors, you want your child to stop doing these things. Start behaviors, on the other hand, are things like picking up, eating, homework, bedtime and getting up and out of the house. These are things that you want your child to start to do, either at all or on their own. The strategies for dealing with these two different types of behaviors is different. The 1-2-3 counting, which results in a time out or take away of privileges when 3 is reached, is only for the stop behaviors. It takes a little bit more thought and planning to effectively motivate kids to start the other behaviors.

I’ll continue to take notes and do a summation once I’m done with the entire book. I certainly like the ideas and the fact that this man has created seminars and presentations based on these concepts, but I do think that a little in-home presence could help parents implement these strategies with some back up to help them build confidence. That’s where I come in. :)