PCIT

A friend of mine is a child psychologist and offered to give me some tips and techniques to get through "the terrible threes." Of course I jumped at the chance for any extra experienced help with the recent tantrums and streak of defiance we have been experiencing over here.

She taught my husband and me all about PCIT (Parent-Child Interaction Therapy). Though we already employ many of these techniques and others are common sense, my mind was blown by how effective it is when you combine all of these things together. So I haven't done any research or reading on the counter argument against PCIT, so I can't speak to any of its criticism. It makes so much sense to me that if you build up your child's confidence that they will be a happier child. I do feel many of the behavior problems we are having now started when the baby was thrown into the mix. Our attention being split has meant that sometimes she needs to wait when she wants something. Sometimes she gets Daddy helping her, when she wanted Mommy or vs. versa. We are both noticing on some long days we are running low on patience and sometimes will snap and yell or act in a way that we don't love.

I want to be a happy, low pressure/stress and loving parent. It may not be possible to be happy all of the time; it may not be possible to be low stress all of the time, but I can choose to try to find ways that will relieve some of the defiance that causes us stress and frustration. Maybe this is one of them?







So here is how it has been going so far since implementing:

Day 1: She overheard most of the explanation about the technique. She was already on her best behavior.
Day 2: We went to visit a museum with a friend in Boston and we tested out the discipline technique. I only counted one or two times and didn't even make it to 3 before she complied with my command. All commands were related to sharing with her friend.
Day 3: The morning getting ready was fairly smooth. We counted to get our potty and brushing routine done and visited time out one time. We went to see a kids music class outside at a shopping plaza that had a water area. I didn't have to count at all while we were out. We had a great lunch and now are enjoying a nap/Mommy's quiet time.

We are very encouraged by the positive changes and look forward to discovering if this is a temporary change or if the novelty will wear off.

Have you tried any new parenting strategies? Anything beneficial to share?