Active Parenting 4th Ed.

“Working with diverse clients, I find they can always identify with one of the families presented in the video.”

“Dr. Michael Popkin demonstrates how moms and dads can address the complicated issues of responsibility and discipline with young children, making positive approaches to conflict almost seem like fun. Of course, that’s saying a lot (and many adults will consider it a stretch), but having come through those years with my own youngsters, I can report that this program helped me recognize the good steps I took—and times when I could have done better. Hosted by Gerardo Davila and featuring well-acted vignettes of true-to-life interactions between parents and kids, the video shows active (authoritarian) approaches to discipline, contrasting those with the traditional concept of reward and punishment. According to Popkin, “In the long run, a stronger person inflicting pain on a smaller, weaker person may cause more harm than good to the child and the relationship.” Far from offering a Pollyanna view, the dramatizations show adults and kids behaving badly before going over the same situation with different strategies (such as using effective “I” messages) that will lead to much better outcomes. A helpful guide to dealing with some of the most challenging aspects of parenting, this is highly recommended. Aud: P. (C. Block)”

“Active Parenting 4th Edition is a video-based class that is easy to lead without special training, and yet it provides valuable skills that parents can put to use right away [with their children]. Active Parenting 4th Edition is an update of our main parenting education program. The core information hasn’t changed (non-violent discipline, open communication, and encouragement), but we’ve added some topics that have emerged as important, including bullying, early drug prevention, and school success. We were also excited to take advantage of improved technology to make the class easier to lead. The class video, for example, is now embedded within a PowerPoint presentation, and we love the result. We feel confident that Active Parenting is an excellent program, but it’s nice to hear that our peers in the publishing world agree!”