Parenting Support - Just for You

Solutions Parenting Support would like to address the ways in which we help parents understand the goals of treatment; both their own and their child’s

Although this article is geared towards ways wilderness and residential professionals can help ease the transition for families, we also wanted the families in our Solutions Parenting Support community to know the work involved on the end of the professionals during this pivotal time. In an effort to continue collaborating on ways to guide parents in the treatment process, we want to share with the wilderness and treatment professionals, in our community, another prevalent theme we are witnessing with the parents we coach.

Remember that you are the parent and calm, consistent communication will begin to change the challenging and aggressive behaviors. This journey has its challenges and will take time to shift, but know that it will change over time. We hope that you will find these tips and tools helpful within your family dynamic.

All too often, kids get home and fall into the same old habits and routines. Upon successfully completing a program, parents are typically given coaching tips and keys to success for a healthy transition back into the mainstream. While this information can be transformative, parents sometimes find it difficult to implement. It is very easy to return to the old way of parenting. So who is there to catch these families that fall through the cracks?

We coach parents on how to manage their child’s access to these tools, encouraging that they start with incrementally introducing children to the parent approved platforms and having a hands on approach to help shape how their children show up in the online world.

Knowing our core is essential, especially through parenting and co-parenting. At Solutions Parenting Supports, one concept we focus on with all families is to identify, regardless of the state of the whole family, what the parenting position is.

In Neanderthal times, the willingness without hesitation or ego-driven obstacles, to be critical allowed us to survive. It was important to criticize your shelter to the nth degree to ensure it could withstand the elements; 70,000 years ago it was necessary to criticize hunting and gathering skills, fire making skills etc. I can only assume that it did not take courage to judge or be judged, it was a necessary aspect of life.

Before your child comes home from a wilderness or residential setting, it’s helpful to get clear on what success can be for your whole family and how you can best support your child’s path to long-term wellness.

We often talk with parents about getting kids in the routine, as early as possible, of being involved in a sport or active group at least 3 days a week. The sooner a child knows that it is part of the family expectation, the sooner they get into the habit.

A 2009 study from the University of London, on families, stated that it is not the type of family (divorced, partnered, married or single parented) that impacts a child’s well being, but, more important, how the family functions, as a whole.