Solving parenting problems through Triple P

Bedtime has become a time of enormous stress for the Ennis family.

Two year-old Jack dawdles, protests and refuses to go to bed. Mom and Dad plead and negotiate with him. The whole process takes hours, his parents are exhausted and now dread the whole bedtime ritual.

"One in three children under the age of five has sleep and bedtime problems, from refusing to go to bed, to crying after they go to bed or getting into their parent's bed," says Tina Hannan, a public health nurse with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit's family health service. "The problem is that they haven't yet learned how to fall asleep independently but with the help of their parents, they can develop the healthy, independent sleep patterns that they need."

Hannan, along with members of a number of community agencies, is trained in the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P), a program that suggests simple routines and small changes can make a big difference to families. And helping children develop healthy, independent sleep patterns is one of the parenting issues that Triple P can help families with.

Parents can help prevent problems at bedtime by making sure their child's bedroom is comfortable, setting a regular time for bed, setting up a bedtime routine and preparing their child for the routine ahead of time. Learning a new routine can be hard for a toddler, so parents may have to also teach their children to stay quietly in bed, and will have to be consistent when dealing with bedtime problems.

"We can't make a child sleep, but we can put children to bed and arrange conditions where sleep becomes more likely," says Angela Artelt-Evans, of the Ontario Early Years Centre, Simcoe North, which also has staff trained in Triple P. "A set routine and some rules are essential to making bedtime a much more enjoyable time for everyone in the family."

Whether the issue is shopping with a toddler, swearing, raising responsible teenagers or fighting and aggression, Triple P helps parents improve child behaviour problems as well as develop positive attitudes, skills and behaviour that encourage children to realize their full potential.

Triple P offers support, practical suggestions and a plan of action for parents, in the way that they need it, whether that's by talking to a trained person over the phone, in individual or group sessions or with additional help. Because there is a broad involvement of a number of community agencies, including the health unit and the Ontario Early Years Centres, trained in Triple P, most children's services agencies can help parents get the service they need. Triple P is widely in use throughout Australia, where it was developed, and has been increasingly adopted throughout the world. For more information, call Your Health Connection 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and ask about Triple P solutions for parenting issues, or visit www.simcoemuskokahealth. org.