 Photo: ITV |
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A tantrum in Tehran, an outburst in Ontario – no matter where on earth they are raised, children present their parents with the same challenges. This common ground explains why Queensland’s Positive Parenting Program, or Triple P, is being embraced by parents the world over.
Created by Professor Matt Sanders and his team at The University of Queensland’s Parenting and Family Support Centre, Triple P is an evidence-based family intervention for the prevention and treatment of behaviour problems in children and adolescents.
The award-winning program promotes the independence and health of families by enhancing parents’ knowledge, skills and confidence and is based on decades of research and clinical trials.
The Queensland Government has allocated $11.48 million over four years to expand parenting programs such as Triple P across Queensland.
A collective sigh of relief is already resounding across 15 countries in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East. Professor Sanders also hopes to roll out the program in Portugal, Sweden and Denmark.
"Many of the parenting difficulties we have here in Australia, they have there," he said.
Triple P has been translated into 13 languages including Mandarin and Cantonese, German, Japanese and Spanish, and is being used by indigenous groups in Australia and Canada.
Late last year, the British Government called in Professor Sanders to tackle its country’s unruly youth.
Professor Sanders met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in November 2006 before the PM announced a $10 million parenting help package to tackle juvenile crime and anti-social and public nuisance problems.
Professor Sanders, who was invited as a parenting advisor to the Downing Street meeting, said he spoke to Mr Blair about the importance of parenting programs.
"It was a fascinating experience to be in the inner sanctum of British Government," Professor Sanders said.
Three evidence-based parenting programs, including Triple P, will be used in the UK.
"Governments around the world are increasingly recognising that good parenting is related to the prevention of many social and health problems, including anti-social behaviour," Professor Sanders said.
Professor Sanders’ advising role follows the success of Driving Mum and Dad Mad, a popular UK TV reality show based on five families’ journeys through Triple P.
Cameras tracked the families for eight weeks as they put Triple P advice into practice to re-build relationships, tackle discipline and set rules and limits.
In collaboration with the University of Manchester, Professor Sanders concurrently ran ‘The Great Parenting Experiment’, which assessed more than 500 UK parents to see whether watching the TV program helped them to improve their children’s behaviour.
The study found participating parents were less likely to shout or hit their children, and were calmer and more confident in their parenting abilities. Their children’s behaviour also improved dramatically with parents less likely to overreact
to yelling or tantrums.
"The Great Parenting Experiment was a significant study from which we could measure the impact of reality television on population change," Professor Sanders said.
http://www.pfsc.uq.edu.au
http://www.triplep.net
Last reviewed 3 April 2007