Tackling issues head-on
The Triple P initiative tailors support to suit the needs of children and their families
MUM Angela Longwell knew ending her toddler’s dependence on her nightly bottles was not going to be easy but after “one night of hell” she started sleeping all night.
While Zara is now nearly three and has settled well into nursery, a few months ago, Angela and husband, David, were at their wits’ end because she would wake them several times a night wanting a bottle of milk before going back to sleep.
“She was off the bottle during the day but was wanting one at night for comfort, so we weren’t getting much sleep,” explains Angela. “We had the same problem with her big sister, Emma, until she was nearly four and we didn’t want to go through that again.
“Zara was also a bit unruly during the day, although I just put that down to the ‘terrible twos’.”
Angela mentioned the issues at Zara’s 30 month “ready to learn” contact with her health visitor, who suggested trying positive parenting using the Triple P programme.
Used in 24 countries, Triple P is ranked by the United Nations as the most effective parenting programme in the world. Impressed by the evidence, the Longwells decided to try out Triple P advice on the issues they were having at home.
“There was nothing wrong with Zara – she was just trying to push her boundaries, but she was always getting her own way so I thought Triple P might be worth a try,” explains Angela.
A trained health worker came to the house to assess Zara’s behaviour and suggested trying “time out” any time she acted up.
“When she next misbehaved, I took her out of the room and explained why she was getting time out. She didn’t like it and got upset, but I stuck with it and her behaviour quickly improved,” says Angela. “She started listening to me and doing what she was told.”
The next step was to wean Zara off the night feeds as she was waking several times during the night and would not go back to sleep until she had her ‘bobo’.
“She was already off the bottle during the day but was using it at night for comfort,” says Angela. “We were told to try going cold turkey, so that night when she woke us at 3am wanting a bottle, we put her back to bed and explained the bottle was away and she wasn’t to get it any longer.
“She cried and kept getting up but we just kept putting her back to bed and putting the light out. Eventually we had to put Emma in our bed so she could get some sleep before school the next day while we sat quietly in the living room in the dark.
“We were up half the night, but the next night Zara slept right through and has been fine every since.
“It was hellish but it was only one night so I am pleased we did it.”
The family’s support came at the right time as a result of the 30 month Ready to Learn contact which was rolled out across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in July 2013 as a result of government guidance that recommendsthat all children should have a check on their health and development at this age.
The check is designed to ensure children’s health and development is as good as possible so they are ready to learn in nursery and then in school.
“Following the assessment at this contact, the health visitor, alongside the family, will decide whatevidencebased support, if any, is required to aid the child’s health and development,” explains parenting programme manager Marie-Claire Leese.
“This support may take many shapes, but we have threaded the offer of Triple P parenting support into the pathway from the 30 month “ready to learn” contact. By doing this, we can ensure that Triple P parenting support is offered to all parents if a need is identified.”
If the problems are tackled early enough, there is a good chance they can be resolved before the child starts nursery.
“Health visitors and staff in children and family teams have tremendous skills in identifying these issues and supporting them using parenting programmes like the Triple P programme,” says Marie-Claire. “These can be normal every day issues but if they are not addressed they can become bigger problems, which can have a major impact on your relationship with your child.
“Children don’t come with a rule book and if you find parenting your child demanding and challenging at times, it doesn’t mean you are a bad parent.
“Triple P can give you really helpful tools and ideas to make parenting that wee bit easier.
“It can take a long time for an evidence-based programme like Triple P to become accepted as the norm, but we are really proud of the steady progress we are making along with our partner agencies in embedding this across the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area.
“We know that parenting influences many aspects of development and must be highly valued, as it is crucial for the nourishment of children and young people throughout their life.”