This article presents results of a survey investigating parents' needs for parenting services, their access to and preferences for parenting programs. Canadian parents (N ϭ 2,340) completed the International Parenting Survey (Morawska, Heinrichs, & Sanders, 2011) with respect to the youngest of their children who was in the 2-12 year age range. In this community sample, over a quarter of parents reported that they had consulted a professional about their child's behavior in the last year. Fifteen percent of parents had participated in some form of parenting program, although only a quarter of these programs were evidence-based. Parents' top-reported barriers to participating in a parenting program were lack of awareness and felt need, followed by practical barriers such as lack of time and access to child care. Parents expressed interest in a diverse array of delivery modes for parenting programs. Implications for enhancing access to parenting programs are discussed.

No abstract

The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the experience of parenting kindergarten-aged children who are anxious. Twenty-three in-depth interviews were conducted with parents of kindergarten-aged children who expressed interest in a parent-focused early intervention program for child anxiety offered in a local elementary school. Key concerns of the parents included their children's separation anxiety, social anxiety, and oppositional behaviour. The child's anxiety was identified as a stressor on the child, the parent, and the family. Parents utilized a range of parenting responses although they tended to be reactive and did not have a consistent strategy for managing the anxiety. A salient parenting struggle was whether or not to push the child to face challenging situations although there were few descriptions of overprotection or overcontrol. The findings suggest greater attention be given to the strengths of parents of children who are anxious and the ways in which parents may be a positive factor in mitigating the effects of child anxiety. Implications for intervention are discussed.

No abstract

Physical punishment of children is linked to negative developmental outcomes. The widely used Positive Parenting Program (Triple P) promotes alternative responses to physical punishment. Data on the effectiveness of the Triple P Seminar Series is limited. In this study, Canadian parents’ reports of physical punishment, non-physical punishment, and non-punitive responses were compared before and after they attended the Triple P Seminar Series. Twenty-seven parents of children aged 2 to 6 years attended the Seminar Series and completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires measuring the number of times they used various physical punishments, non-physical punishments, and non-punitive responses in the past month. Hypotheses were tested using univariate descriptive analyses, paired samples t tests, and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Tests. Parents’ reports of physical punishment decreased on only one of the four physical punishment items (shaking/grabbing) from pre- to post-intervention. Over the course of the Seminar Series, parents became more likely to emphasise rules and to punish their children by taking things away from them. The findings suggest that the Seminar Series has limited effectiveness in reducing physical punishments or increasing non-punitive responses. Further research on this question is needed.