My child doesn’t follow instructions!
I don’t know why she screams and shouts to get what she wants
My child will not listen until I take the cane out
My child is growing up and using the cane seems less effective
I’d like to learn other ways to manage my child’s behaviours
Disciplining my child is ruining our relationship but I can’t not correct his behaviours… right?
Many parents will identify with this sentiment. We have ideals of a happy, harmonious family, comprising “good parents and great kids”… until difficult behaviours make their appearance… and then both parents and children occasionally morph into “monsters” and family life becomes more chaotic than what we had planned for.
Added to the chaos, each parent may have been brought up differently when they themselves were growing up. Different methods of discipline were used. One parent may have never seen a cane in his/her life, and does not see the need for it to manage children’s behaviours. The other parent swears by it, that it is the only way, or the most effective way, to get a child to behave. In many instances, in wanting the best for their children, parents often disagree on methods of discipline, which further adds to the unpleasantness and friction in family life.
Signposts for Building Better Behaviours is an evidence-based program for parents of children aged around 3-15 years, to help families manage difficult behaviours both in typically developing children, and children with developmental difficulties. It aims to build parenting / family skills before children’s behaviours escalate to levels that require intensive intervention.
This systematic, structured positive behaviour management program focuses on principles and strategies that will help increase your child’s desirable behaviours, and reduce the less desirable ones.
Signposts will help us
- understand the reasons for difficult behaviours
- what purposes difficult behaviours serve
- how to replace difficult behaviours with better ones, and
- how to plan ahead for better behaviours
Signposts is delivered as a group program of 5 sessions of between 2 – 2.5 hours each. Group learning is helpful for directed discussions, as well as to share and learn from different perspectives and practices. We will discover alternative ways of looking at and managing issues in parenting and family life.
Similar to studies conducted elsewhere, local research1,2 also showed that parents in Singapore who had participated in the Signposts program consistently reported
- an increase in child’s desirable behaviours, and a reduction in undesirable behaviours
- their children as being more compliant with instructions, less aggressive and disruptive
- greater satisfaction and confidence in managing their children
- feeling significantly less hassled, stressed, anxious and/or depressed
In addition, parents also provided qualitative feedback that
- the strategies taught were relevant whether or not the child has difficult behaviours, and are relevant for all their children (not just the one that had been the reason for referral to the program)
- the Signposts program provides a common platform for parents to discuss their different disciplinary preferences in the light of evidence-based approaches
- they develop a more comprehensive toolkit of positive behaviour management strategies and so need to rely less on less positive strategies
- participating in the Signposts program with other parents helps them feel less isolated and alone in the parenting journey
At Clinical Psychology Associates, the Signposts program is delivered by trained and certified Signposts facilitators who are Clinical Psychologists familiar with parenting challenges of managing difficult behaviours.