SOS Help for Parents: A Practical Guide for Handling Common Everyday Behavior Problems
Lynn Clark
Designed to help parents handle common everyday behavior problems, this book presents a behavior approach that suggests that good and bad behavior are both learned and can be changed, and proposes specific methods, skills, procedures, and strategies for parents to use in getting improved behavior from their children. The guide is divided into four sections. Section 1 presents some fundamentals of child behavior and effective discipline. Some of the causes of children's misbehavior are examined as well as ways of increasing good behavior and eliminating bad ones. Section 2 provides advice for implementing the "time-out" method. Section 3 gives suggestions on how to: (1) manage bad behavior away from home; (2) use points, tokens, and contracts; (3) use time-out on two children at the same time; (4) use time-out on a toy instead of the child; (5) handle aggressive and dangerous behavior; and (6) help children express feelings. Section 4 suggests some additional resources for helping children. Each chapter includes a review of the most important ideas and instructions presented. The book's two appendices include an index of problem behaviors, quizzes and answers for parents, more resources for professionals, and tear-out sheets for parents and teachers. (Contains approximately 60 references.)
Lynn Clark. SOS Help for Parents: A Practical Guide for Handling Common Everyday Behavior Problems (1996). Parents Press, Inc.: Bowling Green, KY.
(254 pages).
Language: English
Reading Level: Easy
Formats Available: Printed Material
(Contact producer regarding price.)
Parents Press, Inc.
P O Box 2180-T
Bowling Green, KY
42102
Phone: (800) 576-1582
Fax: (270) 796-9194
URL: http://www.sosprograms.com
Languages Available: Arabic, Chinese, English, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Spanish, Turkish
Intended User Audience:
Parents of young children (with and without disabilities), teachers of young children, and counselors who work with young children (ages 2-12) and their parents.
Product Development:
A licensed clinical psychologist developed this material. He has worked extensively with families and young children. He has also taught graduate students. This material is based on a review of the literature and the developer's years of clinical experience. His background is in behavioral, and humanistic, and Adlerian psychology.
This material has been translated into a number of languages: Chinese, Korean, Turkish, and Arabic. Psychologists and psychiatrists, usually university-affiliated, in each of these countries have read the English version and contacted the developer for permission to translate it. The developer worked with each individual to arrange the translation and its publication. Currently, the developer is working on the Spanish version.
Product Evaluation:
This material has received positive feedback from many experts in the field. (See brochure with testimonials and quotes from reviews at the beginning of the book).
Product Dissemination:
Approximately, 230,000 copies of the English version of this material have been disseminated throughout the world, 95% in the US. Approximately, 2,000 copies of the Chinese, 1000 of the other languages (Korean, Turkish, and Arabic) have been disseminated. Finally, eight thousand copies of the accompanying video-training program have been distributed.
Review #1
About the reviewer:
The reviewer has worked for ten years with both preschool and early
intervention programs throughout the state of Illinois. The majority
of her work has concentrated on Birth to Five programs in a large,
multiethnic, urban area. In the last four years she has trained and
consulted in Head Start programs on the provision of services to
infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with known or suspected
disabilities. She has conducted training locally, statewide, regionally
and nationally within the federally-funded program.
Audience:
Intended users of this material include parents of young children (2-12) with or without disabilities, early childhood teachers and counselors. The material is designed for easy reading and comprehension. Early childhood teachers and mental health professionals can use the easy-to-learn methods for helping children to improve their behavior and adjustment.
Strengths of the Material:
This material has a number of strengths. The material has been translated into a number of different languages: Chinese, Korean, Turkish, Arabic. There is also an accompanying video training program with parent study sheets in both English and Spanish.
The variety of resources in the material is its greatest strength. The material contains parent testimonials, study sheets in English and Spanish, and a Time Out Parent Inventory (TOPI). It includes 23 behavioral methods, techniques on the appropriate use of time out, a list of 46 problem behaviors, methods for managing behavior and a variety of resources on the topic. The section, "giving feelings a name" contains valuable information for use with young children.
Limitations of the Material:
Programs should be aware of their agency's internal procedures and state licensing policies regarding the appropriate use of discipline. Because the material has been translated into a number of different languages, it is responsive to linguistic diversity but may not necessarily reflect the cultural values, beliefs and practices common to these groups. The caricatures in the book do not reflect a diverse population.
Adaptations:
The addition of a glossary of terms will help a parent better understand words and phrases such as daytime enuresis and logical consequence. While these terms are used within the context of the behavior, readers may have difficulty in associating terminology when a definition has not been previously introduced. In addition, users should be very aware of differences in child-rearing practices and should supplement this resource with materials that address the unique culture of the children and families to whom it is applied.
Generalizability:
This material can be used in many different settings and communities. For example, the techniques described in the material can be used by teacher trainers or parent educators in a classroom or home-based setting with children exhibiting a variety of challenging behaviors.
Recommendations:
This material is recommended. Parents and professionals should be aware of their own philosophy pertaining to discipline due to the extensive section on time out, and the differences in parenting and discipline styles across cultural groups.
Producer's Response:
Not available at this time.
Review #2
About the reviewer:
The reviewer is currently working as a school psychologist in a
medium-sized school district close to 2 large midwestern cities.
Her school population consists of early childhood through 8th
graders. In the past the reviewer spent 3 years managing a
research study that looked at differences in early language
development in infants and toddlers from monolingual and bilingual
backgrounds. She also completed an internship in public relations
at a nonprofit agency serving children with special needs.
Audience:
This material is designed for use with parents of young children (with and without disabilities), teachers of young children, and counselors who work with young children and their parents. The material is based on a review of the literature and the developer's years of clinical experience in behavioral, humanistic, and Adlerian psychology. The material has been translated into a number of languages, including Chinese, Korean, Turkish, and Arabic.
Strengths of the Material:
This material provides practical, common-sense guidelines in handling common behavior problems that children demonstrate, such as attention-seeking behaviors, misbehavior in play, back-talking, bed wetting, etc. The material clearly defines emotional and social skills to be taught and a rationale for their importance. Clear procedures for implementing interventions are provided, examples are given and vignettes are provided to demonstrate the intervention. Also, at the end of each topic/chapter, simple main points to remember are provided.
The material provides a functional analysis of various problem behaviors and uses technically accurate terms to describe approaches. Rationales are provided and alternatives to physical punishment are stated. Family members are encouraged to focus on the function of the behavior exhibited by the child. Potential short-term and long-term outcomes are identified for the caregiver and the child.
An example of the common-sense approach this material has is the chapter regarding major methods for stopping bad behavior. The chapter begins with questions parents should ask about punishment. The chapter then goes on to list five different types of mild punishment that can be used and lists tips for correctly using mild punishment. Also, the material then discusses mistakes parents can make and goes on to again suggest signs that the intervention (i.e., scolding) is not effective with a certain child. Thus, parents should try another strategy, such as natural consequences, logical consequences, and time out. The material does acknowledge children with learning disabilities, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and the benefits and importance of attaining professional help when needed.
Finally, the reading level of the material is easy to average, the material's purpose is clear, the presentation of the information is easy to follow, and the directions on how to use the material are clearly stated. The material provides entertaining cartoons and stories as well as an uplifting writing style. Contact agencies for accessing additional information are found at the end of the book, and a video and options for ordering other books are provided.
Limitations of the Material:
While the material provides many outstanding behavior interventions, it does not acknowledge cultural variations in intervention strategies, variations in expectations for social interaction, or assessments that consider the influence of language proficiency and cultural variations. The provision of services in the families' preferred language or through an interpreter/cultural mediator is not encouraged. Also, the importance of employing service providers who respect and are knowledgeable about cultures and languages of the families served is not acknowledged. While home-school consistency is alluded to, communication is not clearly encouraged among families and providers regarding differing views of discipline and guidance. Also, the approaches mentioned do not take into account the environment in which the family lives.
While the material has been translated into a number of languages, it does not specify detailed information regarding cultural and linguistic groups with whom the approach has been used. Finally, a wide variety of groups were not represented, as individuals from diverse cultural and linguistic groups and children with various types of disabilities were not clearly considered or represented.
Adaptations:
Potential users of the material may wish to develop a caveat: it could simply state that the material contains general theoretical approaches to behavioral interventions and does not address cultural and linguistic differences or needs. In fact, potential users could develop a discussion segment of a seminar related to various approaches to behavioral interventions and discipline that may be related to a family's culture.
Generalizability:
This material appears to be useful in a wide variety of communities, ranging from rural to suburban to urban. The basic principles of this material are the tried and true methods that decades of research supports as effective behavioral interventions.
Recommendations:
This material is recommended with adaptations. A simple caveat and attempt to address cultural differences in perceptions of discipline, as well as the need to address various ways of disciplining children with disabilities, would make the material even more useful. Parents and teachers from diverse areas would love to have a resource such as this.
Producer's Response:
Not available at this time.
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