The Psych Files Podcast » Parenting/Childcare

Episode 136: Adele Faber Interview on Parenting (Part 2)

Michael — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 13:04:56 +0000

In part 2 of my interview with Adele Faber, co-author along with Elaine Mazlish of “How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk” we talk about what do do when you’ve got nothing left emotionally to give to your children, how to handle foul language, how to problem solve with your children, and being authentic with your children about own feelings. Finally, Adele gives her opinion on whether or not we need to be tougher with our children.

What is our major goal as parents?
Still another woman glibly said, “To produce children who are, among other things, brilliant, polite, charming, neat and well-adjusted, of course.”
Dr. Ginott looked solemn. It was obvious that this last comment had not amused him. He leaned forward and said, “This is how I see it. It seems to me that our large goal is to find the ways to help our children become humane and strong.
“For what does it profit us if we have a neat, polite, charming youngster who could watch people suffer and not be moved to action?
“What have we accomplished if we have reared a child who is brilliant – at the top of his class – but who uses his intellect to manipulate others?
“And do we really want children so well-adjusted that they adjust to an unjust situation? Too many Germans adjusted only too well to the orders of the Nazis to exterminate millions of their fellow men.
“Understand me: I’m not opposed to a child being polite or neat or learned. The crucial question for me is What methods have been used to accomplish these ends? If the methods used are insults, attacks, and threats, then we can be very sure that we have also taught this child to insult, attack, to threaten, and to comply when threatened.
“If, on the other hand, we use methods that are humane, then we’ve taught something much more important than a series of isolated virtues. We’ve shown the child how to be a person – a mensch, a human being who can conduct his life with strength and dignity.”
pages 14-15 of Liberated Children, Liberated Parents

Episode 135: Adele Faber Interview on Parenting (Part 1)

Michael — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 14:53:11 +0000

Are you familiar with Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish‘s classic book “How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk“? You should be. It’s not just for parents. The ideas in this book and in their other books should be required reading for all of us, but especially for parents, therapists and anyone interested in what we can do to better communicate with each other. I think you will be as charmed as I was listening to Adele and I encourage you to listen to part 2 of this interview.

We want to put an end to talk that wounds the spirit, we want to create an emotional climate that encourages children to cooperate because they care about themselves, and because they care about us.

Episode 103: Raising Children – Interview with Author Jamie Raser

Michael — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:11:09 +0000

Having trouble raising your children? Join the crowd. There are lots of parenting books, but here’s one you should know about: "Raising Children You Can Live With" by Jamie Raser. He has an approach to parenting that is not about "picking your battles", but about staying out of battles altogether and talking with your child in a way that doesn’t lead to shouting, screaming and anger. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Listen to Jamie Raser talk about his ideas in this episode of The Psych Files.

Parenting is not a series of "techniques" or "manipulations" designed to gain control over another human being. When parents are in control of themselves and [the way they interact with their children], children will learn to control themselves. – Jamie Raser, Raising Children You Can Live With

Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select–doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors. I am going beyond my facts and I admit it, but so have the advocates of the contrary and they have been doing it for many thousands of years. John Watson, Behaviorism (1930). Thanks to the Wisconsin Association for Behavior Analysis for the complete quote (see the final sentence – italics mine).

Resources on Parenting

You can contact Jamie using his email address: jraser AT dpisd DOT org.

Research showing that spanking children does not work:

Gershoff, I. (2002). Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579.

Kazdin, A. E., & Benjet, C. (2003). Spanking children: Evidence and Issues. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 99-103.

Although physical punishment may produce immediate compliance – children typically stop the behavior spanking is meant to end – there are a number of serious long-term side effects. For example, spanking is associated with lower quality parent-child relationships, poorer mental health for both child and parent, higher levels of delinquency, and more antisocial behavior. In addition, children who experience higher levels of spanking are less able to develop their own inner sense of right and wrong…Spanking also teaches children that violence is an acceptable solution to prolems by serving as a model of violent, aggressive behavior. – Robert Feldman, Development Across the Life Span

Episode 76: Lost at School – An Interview with Dr. Ross Green Part 1

Michael — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:58:51 +0000

Image via WikipediaLooking for alternatives to timeout in the classroom? Dr. Ross Green, author of The Explosive Child, has just published his second book, “Lost at School” in which he shows how the principles of Collaborative Problem Solving can be used by teachers and other caregivers in school settings. If timeout hasn’t worked for you as a parent or teacher, and especially if you’re a teacher dealing with “problem kids”, then you should look into Collaborative Problem Solving. Join me for another fascinating interview with Dr. Ross Green.

Resources for this Episode

Zero Tolerance Policies: in this interview, Dr. Green and I briefly discuss our doubts about the effectiveness of zero tolerance policies in schools. A recent publication in the journal American Psychologist confirms these doubts. From the abstract of “Are zero tolerance policies effective in the schools?: An evidentiary review and recommendations” by the American Psychological Association Zero Tolerance Task Force (December 2008, Volume 63):

…zero tolerance policies may negatively affect the relationship of education with juvenile justice and appear to conflict to some degree with current best knowledge concerning adolescent development. To address the needs of schools for discipline that can maintain school safety while maximizing student opportunity to learn, the report offers recommendations for both reforming zero tolerance where its implementation is necessary and for alternative practice to replace zero tolerance where a more appropriate approach is indicated.

Episode 49: Classroom Management – An Interview with Dr. Ross Green part 2

Michael — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 20:45:38 +0000

In this episode I continue the interview on Collaborative Problem Solving in the classroom with Dr. Ross Green, author of The Explosive Child. As I stated in the previous episode, there are a variety of classroom management techniques, all designed to help solve the issue of how to discipline children who are having behavioral problems. I think you’ll find that Dr. Green’s approach makes a lot of sense and it can be implemented in the classroom as well as at home. A fascinating interview.

Here again are the resources on this topic that I think you’ll find useful:

Collaborative Problem Solving Books and DVDs

The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children
Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach
Parenting the Explosive Child: featuring Drs. Ross Greene and Stuart Ablon
Calming the Tempest : Helping the Explosive Child
Check out the Thinkkids website where you can find more information on collaborative problem solving.

Related Episodes on The Psych Files

Site Search Tag: Development, Parenting and Childcare

Episode 48: Classroom Management – An Interview with Dr. Ross Green

Michael — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:38:06 +0000

Classroom management techniques – there are a lot of strategies for dealing with behavior problems in the classroom. It’s time to add Collaborative Problem Solving to your toolkit. Learn an alternative to traditional classroom discipline techniques like timeout or sending the child to the principal. A recent Time magazine article entitled “How to Make Great Teachers” mentions that in a 2001 survey of teachers, 44% listed "student behavior problems" as the reason they left the profession. What can be done?

In this episode I interview Dr. Ross Green, author of The Explosive Child and the upcoming book "Lost in School". He’ll tell you how to use collaborative problem solving with your students. This episode is also for parents, daycare workers, babysitters – anyone who wants to help young people learn to think their way through everyday behavior problems.

(If I sound like the “chipmunks” on your computer, try this link instead.)

Collaborative Problem Solving Books and DVDs

The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children
Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach
Parenting the Explosive Child: featuring Drs. Ross Greene and Stuart Ablon
Calming the Tempest : Helping the Explosive Child
Check out the Thinkkids website where you can find more information on collaborative problem solving.

Related Episodes on The Psych Files

Site Search Tag: Development, Parenting and Childcare

Episode 34: Timeout Revisited – Dealing with Challenging Kids Part 2

Michael — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:50:45 +0000

Here’s the second part of my episode on alternatives to timeout. In this part of the interview, Dr. Ablon discusses Plan B in more detail. How do you work with your child to come up with solutions that satisfy both your and his or her needs?

Resources For Timeout Revisited

Make sure to check out the ThinkKids website for more information on collaborative problem solving.
There’s some interesting information in Wikipedia on the topic of timeout.

Related Episodes

In case you didn’t catch part 1 of this episode on alternatives to timeout, here’s the link:

Part 1 of the interview on timeout revisited.

Episode 33: Timeout Revisited – Dealing with Challenging Kids Part 1

Michael — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:17:07 +0000

In part of 1 of this interview Dr. J. Stuart Ablon we talk those children for whom timeout sometimes does not work. What’s your alternative then? Listen in and learn about the Collaborative Problem Solving approach.

Resources For This Episode

Make sure to go to the Think Kids website for more information about collaborative problem solving.

The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children

Treating Explosive Kids: The Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach

Relevent Previous Episodes on The Psych Files

Make sure to listen to the episode entitled Is Timeout Really Effective?

An early episode of The Psych Files covers the basics of rewards and punishments.

Related Episodes

Be sure to listen part 2 of this interview with Stuart Ablon called “Timeout Revisited”: dealing with challenging kids:

Part 2 of the interview on timeout revisited.