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Pediatricians and behavioral parenting education: skills for early prevention of negative behaviors

Many parents and caregivers are actively seeking help with their children's behavior. Others might not even realize the enriched family life available to them through the acquisition of better parenting and family communication skills. Still others simply lack the education for understanding and correcting disadvantageous behavior patterns.

What can we as pediatricians do? We can enhance our knowledge of behavioral parenting education, and we can share our knowledge. Teaching parents to discourage negative behavior and to reinforce positive behavior is the premise of behavior parenting education.

Until recently, there was little recognition of the specific body of behavioral knowledge that can be taught to parents and caregivers. Years of productive research in the fields of psychology, education and medicine have resulted in such concepts as:

• natural and logical consequences as a substitute for rewards and punishment;

• offering appropriate choices;

• effective teaching of responsibility and discipline;

• enhancing communication through "I" messages; and

• understanding and appreciating temperament,