Behavioral Parent Training
(BPT)
For Parents of Children and Adolescents with Noncompliant Behavior
Behavioral Parent Training
(BPT)
For Parents of Children and Adolescents with Noncompliant Behavior
Behavioral Parent Training
- Are you a parent struggling with how to manage your child’s behavior?
- Do you find your child not complying with your requests no matter how many times you ask?
- Does your child respond by yelling, throwing temper tantrums, or demonstrating other undesirable behavior?
- Do you find yourself getting angry, yelling, or just giving up?
If you often find yourself in this escalating cycle of negative interactions with your child, don’t despair! With the support of a child psychologist at Positive Development Psychology, you can learn strategies to increase desirable behavior, decrease unwanted behavior, and in turn reduce your stress and create a more pleasant home environment for everyone.
What is Behavioral Parent Training?
Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) is an evidence-based treatment approach that trains parents or caregivers in the management of noncompliant or defiant child behavior. Specifically, this approach teaches parents how to respond to children who display oppositional behavior and have problems listening and complying with parental requests and following rules.
BPT also guides parents in reducing high-conflict interactions. While BPT was designed to address childhood behavior disorders, such as oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), some of the strategies taught are also relevant to parents of typically developing children with more mild behavioral challenges.
What do parents learn by participating in Behavioral Parent Training?
BPT provides parents with the tools to manage child oppositional behavior. In particular, BPT helps parents to:
- Understand the typical causes of child defiance
- Increase wanted and reduce unwanted child behaviors
- Use effective language to increase compliance
- Provide consistent and appropriate consequences
- Reinforce desired behaviors and appropriately use rewards
- Set limits and implement discipline techniques
- Increase positive interactions between parent and child
- Anticipate and proactively plan for misbehavior
- Foster a more positive home environment
What are some other benefits of Behavioral Parent Training?
Unsurprisingly, children engaging in disruptive behaviors are typically unmotivated to work with a child therapist. When experiencing strong emotions, like anger or frustration, they are also unlikely to independently implement behavior strategies taught to them in individual therapy. Therefore, utilizing a parent-based model is a desirable and effective way to address childhood misbehavior. Research demonstrates that BPT results in a significant reduction of oppositional and defiant behaviors in children whose main struggle is noncompliance.
Frequently Asked Questions About BPT
What are the typical causes of child defiance?
Child defiance can stem from various sources, including biological and environmental factors, such as child temperament, parental use of inconsistent or ineffective behavior management techniques, and presence of family stressors. A therapist specializing in child behavioral challenges can help parents understand these underlying factors and equip them with strategies to address behaviors of concern, fostering a more harmonious family dynamic.
What are some common techniques used in BPT?
BPT teaches parents to use direct and clear communication to give commands and reinforce positive behavior immediately through attention, praise, and incentive programs. This use of consistent and immediate consequences includes mild punishment techniques, such as the strategic ignoring of minor misbehavior, removal of privileges, and time out. Additionally, parents learn to anticipate problematic situations and make a plan for addressing difficult behaviors ahead of time.
Is BPT effective for children with mild behavioral challenges?
BPT can be useful for parents looking to enhance their child rearing skills and address more mild situational behavior problems. Although BPT was intended to address more significant oppositional behaviors, many of the skills addressed, such as learning how to provide effective prompts, when to attend to or ignore behavior, and how to implement mild punishment techniques, can be applicable to everyday behavioral challenges that parents encounter when raising children.
What are the benefits of a parent-based model in managing child behavior?
A parent-based model like BPT emphasizes the role of parents as agents of change in their child’s behavior. This approach not only enhances the parent’s behavior management skills and teaches them how they may have unknowingly been reinforcing their child’s misbehavior, but can also help build a stronger, more supportive parent-child relationship. Young children are also typically unmotivated to change their own behavior, making individual child therapy for this issue less effective.
How do I know if BPT is right for my family?
BPT may be a good fit if your child is displaying ongoing behavioral challenges that impact your child’s ability to function and contribute to family stress. If your child is struggling to follow rules or accept age-appropriate responsibilities and you are feeling overwhelmed by your child’s behavior, BPT can provide structured, proven strategies that might help. It is best to consult with a professional to discuss your specific situation.
Contact us at Positive Development Psychology to speak with a psychologist trained in Behavioral Parent Training (BPT) and to discuss if your child would benefit from this treatment approach.