STRIVE lab director Dr. Lauren Haack discusses helpful mindsets and self-care activities to reduce parenting stress, including:
* Redirecting attention to what you can versus can't control
* Adjusting expectations and limiting "should" thoughts
* Acknowledging the little victories!
* Focusing on self-compassion and validation
* Scheduling in quick, easy, and realistic self-care activities
Effectiveness: Thoughts about the ability to parent and why children behave the way they do influence how one actually parents and how children respond. As a parent, engaging in self-care activities and helpful thinking may result in feeling calmer and more confident. This in turn may lead to more effective parenting and child behavior.
Johnston, C., Park, J. L., & Miller, N. V. (2018). Parental cognitions: Relations to parenting and child behavior. In Handbook of Parenting and Child Development across the Lifespan (pp. 395-414).
(También disponible en español)
STRIVE lab director Dr. Lauren Haack offers tips on Setting clear, manageable expectations for what you expect of your child each day regarding school work and home routines (e.g., chores and self-care), as well as positive behavior; specifically:
- Setting and sticking to a regular schedule, even if your children are at home all day
- Prompting for and providing frequent, specific praise for behaviors you’d like to see more of (e.g., independence/on-task behavior, kind words with others)
- Establishing rewards or privileges for routines and challenging tasks/expectations; templates for routine-reward systems and reward ideas can be found at https://clsprogram.ucsf.edu/s/resources
- Providing multiple opportunities for breaks and physical activity
- Modifying routines and rewards collaboratively as needed
Consistency and structure are always helpful but can be especially calming during time of stress; we benefit from knowing what’s going to happen and when. Establishing structure and routines, as well as providing prompts and praise, can be helpful for all families, especially in the context of stressors; these practices also demonstrate benefit with vulnerable populations, such as youth with attention and behavior challenges and families experiencing homelessness.
Perlman, S., Cowan, B., Gewirtz, A., Haskett, M., & Stokes, L. (2012). Promoting positive parenting in the context of homelessness. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82(3), 402.
Pfiffner, L. J., Rooney, M., Haack, L., Villodas, M., Delucchi, K., & McBurnett, K. (2016). A randomized controlled trial of a school-implemented school–home intervention for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and impairment. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 55(9), 762-770.
CLS-A-FUERTE Program overview (en español)