Dr. Ross Greene

In this episode, our newest parents panel member, Anna, shares how Plan B has given her family hope. One caller asks for advice on how to navigate divorce with a behaviorally challenging child. Anna and Suzy advise that keeping the lines of communication open is just as important between parents as between parent and child. Panel members stress the importance of not focusing on the behavior but the precursor, and Dr. Greene weighs in on what we can learn from each challenging episode.

Dr. Greene answered more emails from the summer on this program.  Among the questions answered: What to do when kids don't talk in the Empathy step of Plan B, whether Plan B can be applied to toilet training, and how to help kids who are holding it together during the school day but are challenging at home.

We heard from a few callers today who related some of the successes they're having in using Plan B...and were reminded (by way of another's mom's email) that we want to focus not on what a child does in response to an unsolved problem (i.e., his behavior) but rather on the unsolved problem giving rise to that response. 

Dr. Greene tried to catch up on summer emails during this program, and started with one asking for more information about the Invitation step of Plan B.  Of course, you'll have to listen to the program to hear that and everything else!

After a summer hiatus, we jump-started the program with the Parents Panel, and had a nice opportunity to get reminders on a few of the key tenets of solving problems collaboratively:  Plan B is far more effective when it's done proactively, and also more effective when it's focused on a specific unsolved problem rather than a challenging behavior (such as hitting) that applies to many different unsolved problems.

On this last program until September, we got caught up on email...and covered a lot of ground. Among the topics: in kids who are having difficulty participating in Plan B, sometimes it's necessary to talk with them about what's hard about talking before it's possible to talk with them about other unsolved problems. Looking forward to September!

As always, we covered a lot of territory on this last Parents Panel until September...including giving some thought to what summers can be like for parents of behaviorally challenging kids.

Hint: Just about everything. But you'll have to listen to this program for the details.

Lots of ground covered on today's program...among the questions Dr. Greene answered: What to do if the folks at school are looking to parents for help with unsolved problems that are occurring at school? And, what are some baby steps for parents who are brand new to the model?

As usual, varied topics were covered on todays program.  Among them, a mom's belief that her child's concerns aren't true...

Lot's of discussion on our April Parents Panel, including the fact that there's a lot of work still to be done to change societal lenses and practices with behaviorally challenging kids...and the fact that we're talking about that is a good thing!

What should the consequence be if a child exhibits challenging behavior after an adult uses Plan A to solve a problem? That's not the only question answered on today's program...

Lots of ground covered on today's program, including a plea from a parent whose child is in a school and school system in which punishment and expulsion are still being used to handle oppositional and explosive behavior.  The principal, vice principal, and head of student services in that school system will be receiving Care Packages from Lives in the Balance ASAP.

Lots of territory covered on today's program, most of it related to things that can go awry when parents are trying to solve problems collaboratively. Here's the good news: with some minor adjustments in strategy, things can start going a whole lot better.

Parenting is really hard, but it's especially hard if you're the parent of a child with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges.  There's so much advice being thrown your way, a lot of it telling you to be more firm, more consistent, and more diligent with the rewards and punishments. If all those sticker charts, time-outs, screaming matches, arguments have you feeling like a lot of parents do -- isolated, frustrated, and desperate -- well, you've found a program that can help. On this program, Dr. Ross Greene -- author of The Explosive Child and originator of the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach -- helps parents understand challenging behavior and overcome many of the hurdles involved in implementing his model. It's very hard work...and this is a great opportunity to call in, ask questions, get the support you need, and or just listen to other parents or relatives who are dealing with similar real-life issues. The program airs every Monday at 11 am Eastern time from September through May. Sp

A lot of territory was covered on this program, as several parents called in with questions and Dr. Greene responded to questions sent by email as well.  But the key theme was established by the first caller:  if solving problems collaboratively is working for your child, there's no reason to stop doing it. 

Parents often say that the unsolved problems setting in motion challenging episodes in their kids are unpredictable. But that's not exactly so.  Because Plan B is most effective when it's used proactively, it's crucial to transform the seemingly unpredictable into the predictable. 

On today's Parents Panel, one of our Panel members told us about her recent visit with her behaviorally challenging son, who is now a young adult. He's doing really well...perhaps evidence that Plan B (and a lot of patience) can do a kid and his parents a lot of good, and certainly evidence of the fact that development has its own time-line that often can't be rushed.

On today's program, Dr. Greene spent some time talking with the dad of a child whose aggressive, violent behavior has been reduced dramatically by various medications.  The take-home message: take advantage of the lull so as to get good at Plan B...because, if the goal is for the child to be medication-free someday, something is going to have to replace the meds.

Parenting is really hard, but it's especially hard if you're the parent of a child with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges.  There's so much advice being thrown your way, a lot of it telling you to be more firm, more consistent, and more diligent with the rewards and punishments. If all those sticker charts, time-outs, screaming matches, arguments have you feeling like a lot of parents do -- isolated, frustrated, and desperate -- well, you've found a program that can help. On this program, Dr. Ross Greene -- author of The Explosive Child and originator of the Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) approach -- helps parents understand challenging behavior and overcome many of the hurdles involved in implementing his model. It's very hard work...and this is a great opportunity to call in, ask questions, get the support you need, and or just listen to other parents or relatives who are dealing with similar real-life issues. The program airs every Monday at 11 am Eastern time from September through May. Sp