COPEing with Toddler Behaviour

Parents of 12- to 36-month-olds who are having challenges with toddler behaviour

For parents/caregivers of children ages: 1 - 3

COPEing with Toddler Behaviour is an 8-session parent group designed to enhance caregiver skills in preventing and responding to challenging behaviour. In developing the course, current wisdom about toddler behaviour guidance, parent training, adult education, and large group processes were integrated. The group is for any parent of a child 12 to 36 months old. The primary goal of COPEing with Toddler Behaviour is to improve parent-child interaction in order to prevent the development of disruptive behaviour disorders.

Alison Niccols
McMaster Children's Hospital/McMaster University/Offord Centre for Child Studies

• Email: niccols@hhsc.ca
• Phone: (905) 521-2100 x77408

The goals of COPEing with Toddler Behaviour are to train parents to:

• Use an authoritative parenting style
• Foster a positive parent-child relationship
• Have appropriate developmental expectations
• Prevent challenging behaviours by planning ahead, using praise and giving choices
• Respond to challenging behaviour by setting limits, redirecting, and ignoring inappropriate behaviour
• Modify the environment to limit conflict

Expected outcomes include:

• Reducing child negative behaviour
• Reducing parent negative behaviour
• Reducing parent stress
• Reducing parent-child dysfunctional interaction
• Increasing child positive behaviour
• Increasing parent positive behaviour
• Increasing positive parent-child interaction

The essential components of COPEing with Toddler Behaviour include:

• A focus on training parents in skills that prevent challenging behaviour in 12- to 36-month-olds
• Session topics on how to:
• Use an authoritative parenting style and foster a positive parent-child relationship
• Have appropriate developmental expectations
• Prevent challenging behaviours by planning ahead, using praise and giving choices
• Respond to challenging behaviour by setting limits, redirecting and ignoring inappropriate behaviour
• Modify the environment to limit conflict
• Utilization of an empowering model of group problem-solving
• Minimization of practical barriers to attendance
• A manual to help facilitator adhere to program components
• Utilization of video clips
• Availability and requirement of facilitator training
• Recommended group size of 15-40 parents

Parent/Caregiver Services

COPEing with Toddler Behaviour directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:

• Challenges in interacting with toddlers in a way that prevents/minimizes challenging behaviour and parent-child conflict

Recommended Intensity

2-hour weekly sessions

Recommended Duration

8 weeks

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Community-based Agency / Organization / Provider

Homework

There are home practice sheets for each session on the topic of the session. These assignments are discussed before and after implementation.

Languages

COPEing with Toddler Behaviour has materials available in the following languages other than English:

• Spanish
• Swedish

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed in this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

• Parent group room
• Child care room
• 2 trained facilitators
• DVD/TV
• Advertising resources

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

An early childhood education diploma or equivalent college degree or Bachelor’s level education in psychology, child development, nursing, or a related area, as well as relevant experience working with parents and young children.

Manual Information

There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact

Training Type/Location:

Onsite training

Number of days/hours:

2-day workshop for facilitator training

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are no pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for COPEing with Toddler Behaviour.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is no formal support available for implementation of COPEing with Toddler Behaviour.

Fidelity Measures

The fidelity measures are located in the manual at the end of each session chapter.

Established Psychometrics

There are no established psychometrics for COPEing with Toddler Behaviour.

Fidelity Measures Required

No fidelity measures are required for COPEing with Toddler Behaviour.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are no implementation guides or manuals for COPEing with Toddler Behaviour.

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of COPEing with Toddler Behaviour.

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has not been conducted on how to implement COPEing with Toddler Behaviour.

Child Welfare Outcome: Child/Family Well-Being

“What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section?”

• Niccols, A. (2009). Immediate and short-term outcomes of the “COPEing with Toddler Behaviour” parent group. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(5), 617–626. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2008.02007.x

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Number of participants: 79

  Population:

  • Age — 18–45 years
  • Race/Ethnicity — Not specified
  • Gender — 100% Female
  • Status —

    Participants were mothers of 12- to 36-month-olds.

  Location/Institution: Canada

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to report on (a) the effectiveness of COPEing with Toddler Behaviour in reducing child behavior problems and improving child behavior in parent–child interaction (primary outcomes), (b) the effectiveness of COPEing with Toddler Behaviour in improving parenting behavior and functioning, and (c) client satisfaction. Participants were randomly assigned to the COPEing with Toddler Behaviour program or to a waiting list control condition. Measures utilized include the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory Problem Scale, the Parenting Scale, and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Results indicate that COPEing with Toddler Behavior yielded significant effects on child behavior problems, positive parent–child interaction, and parental over reactivity and depression, but not observed negative child behavior or parental laxness. Most effects were significant at both post-test and 1-month follow-up and effect sizes were small to medium for the intervention group and inverse to small for the control group. The potential of the program to prevent later behavior problems is supported by improvements in six of the eight outcomes. Limitations include that the generalizability of the findings are limited to mothers who are concerned enough about their child’s behavior to register for a parenting course, the small sample size, and limited follow-up.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 1 month.

• Niccols, A. (2010, Winter). An ounce of prevention: COPEing with Toddler Behaviour. IMPrint Newsletter of the Infant Mental Health Promotion Project, 54, 1-5.

• Niccols, A., Hutchinson, C., Brooks, S., Hancock, L., Jeffels, S., Kaufhold, C., ... Volek, K. (2004). "COPEing with Toddler Behaviour" parenting course facilitator manual. Available from first author.
  

• Niccols, A. (2004). "COPEing with Toddler Behaviour" parenting course videotape. Available from author.