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The Howard Center for Human Services First Call for Children and Families |
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First Call |
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The Howard Center for Human Services First Call for Children and Families |
To contact
First Call |
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BECAUSE WE CARE: THE PRINCIPLES OF PREVENTIVE PARENTING The Howard Center for Human Services in Burlington, Vermont, is a 132 year old community mental health, substance abuse and human service organization serving the greater Chittenden County region. The Howard Center and I have collaborated on this project. Because We Care: 21 Principles of Preventive Parenting is a very short but very important book. It is about effective parenting and substance abuse prevention. For over 28 years I have worked and taught in the field of substance abuse prevention and intervention. Over that rather long time period one very important fact has been recognized over and over again: the single most important factor in the prevention of substance abuse is effective parenting. This is especially true when the child is in her/his early developmental period, say from ages 5 to 12. Effective parenting will also pay off when the child becomes an adolescent. Effective parenting, especially in the early years of psychosocial development, is more important as a factor than negative social norms (America as a self-medicating society) and peer group influences (adolescent norms of substance abuse). Therefore, this short book is based on reviewing documented principles and practices of effective parenting. Ample research support exists noting that effective parenting with loving attachment and emotional bonding are often precursors of life-long health. Allow me to briefly review the various beneficial effects on child development when effective parenting and role modeling occur. Parents who offer loving support and gentle but firm corrective guidance to their children often establish a pattern of human interaction expectations; these expectations often form the foundation of the child's future interpersonal relationships. Many, many positive developmental attributes result from caring, limit-setting parental attention. For example, in families where parents are effective, nutrition is often better; child stress is usually lower; positively modeled moderate mood (less anxiety, less depression, less anger) and coping skills are often copied by the child; and, observed healthy self-care practices may become the way the child encounters this ever-more-demanding world. Today, many parents, even those who may have had effective parents, are in need of professional help to learn how to become even more effective. In this great nation we do not teach parent effectiveness; in our culture we require more care and study to fish for trout than we do to raise children. There are many positive side effects from effective parenting. Effective parenting often leads to improved child self-esteem and self-concept, a more optimistic outlook on life, prosocial spiritual values, and better physical and emotional health. For more information refer to research by Russek, L.G. and Schwartz, G.E. in Dean Ornish (1997). Love and Survival New York: Harper Collins, pp. 23-71. Effective parenting also may produce children who have more trust in human relationships. When a child grows older and embarks on more intimate relationships, he/she must have a solid emotional base to risk vulnerability and intimacy. Better resilience, better self-esteem, stronger coping capacities -- all come with improved interpersonal relationships. For more information refer to Parker, G.P. et.al. (1992). From nurture to network...American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 877-885. As stated above, effective parenting is the best way to ensure positive child development. The remainder of this short book will present various principles of effective parenting and specific skill building activities. Hopefully, you will utilize many of these approaches to improve parenting and prevent substance abuse problems in your child. Even if you use only one or two skills noted here, your parenting may improve. Please realize that in such a short book it is impossible to include all related principles of effective parenting. It is also not possible to expand information into great detail. Your capacity to use the skills presented in this book may improve if you attend a workshop dealing with the skills noted. However, this book is meant as a starting point for improved parenting. I hope you will find the principles and activities helpful and interesting. I also hope you will decide to read some of the recommended sources of information on your own. |
