Parent Effectiveness Training P.E.T.

Parent Effectiveness Training

Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) teaches parents and educators specific communication and conflict resolution skills to create and sustain effective and enduring relationships with children of all ages in all circumstances.
N.B. In the outline below we refer to ‘parents’ throughout. However, if you are a carer, child educator, or in any role where having a good relationship with children is important then this refers equally to you.

The Parent Effectiveness Training course is made up of 8 x 3-hour sessions. The program is generally delivered; over 8 weeks, 3-4 full days, or 5 half days in a group setting or individually by arrangement. Group size varies but usually between 8 – 12 participants.
Parent Effectiveness Training is designed to involve you in an active way drawing on your own life experiences, circumstances, problems, and perspectives. Activities include skills practice, group discussion, sharing, reflection as well as instructor presentations.

Explore the characteristics of an ‘effective’ person and some of the beliefs that limit us in our relationships.
How the Gordon Model supports adults in their communication and relationships with children.
Explores the different styles of interacting with children. What works and why.
Learning to understand children’s behaviour and which techniques apply in which situations.
Describes the concept and importance of identifying ‘who owns the problem’ thus alleviating some major relational stressors.
Addresses some of the myths of parenting which is very liberating, especially for the modern parent.

How to recognise and help your child when they have a problem.
Learning the 12 ‘roadblocks’ we unwittingly use in our communication with children and what to do instead.
Listening actively so your child feels heard and safe to express their emotions.
6 Step Problem-solving method to help the child learn to solve their own problems and become more independent.
Questions, skills practice, and scenarios.

How to communicate to strengthen your relationship with your child so tension is lessened.
Learn how to avoid problems before they arise.
How to avoid the pitfalls of praise and build the child’s self-esteem and resilience without it.
Develop agility with ‘I’ messages to express your needs in a way that the child can hear and modify their behaviour.
A deeper understanding of anger, what is beneath it, and how to manage it.
Questions, skills practice, and scenarios.

What are the harmful impacts of the authoritarian and permissive methods of parenting?
Understanding how our normal ways of resolving conflicts harm both the relationship and self-esteem of the child.
Learning a new method to resolve conflict that actually builds on the strength of the parent-child relationship and the confidence and resilience of the child.
Introduction to the ‘no-lose’ method of conflict resolution that cares for the needs of the adult and the child.
Learning to identify our own and our children’s needs and how to start to meet them.
How to apply a method known as the ’Six steps to Problem Solving.
Questions, skills practice, and scenarios.

Understanding values collisions and how they impact all our relationships.
Options for resolving values collisions harmoniously.
How to be an effective ‘consultant’ when children are behaving in ways that are challenging for us?
Understanding ‘difference’ and how we can live or work with others who are different from us.
Self-acceptance and how to support yourself as a parent.
The four types of ‘time’ and the cost of not striking a good balance within relationships.
Review and closure