HELPING PARENTS HANDLE CHILD BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS

摘要

Childhood behavioural problems, such as sleeping and eating disturbances, non-compliance and regulatory issues, are increasing in the UK (British Medical Association, 2013). Children's early environments affect the development of these problems. Furthermore, once established, they predict long-term or lifelong difficulties (Shonkoff et al, 2012). Several risk factors have been identified, including socioeconomic disadvantage; however, poor parenting is the key risk factor for these problems (Farrington and Welsh, 2007). Early intervention, specifically parenting support, has repeatedly demonstrated effective ways of addressing these difficulties (National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH), 2013). Health visitors have always provided advice for parents (Doi et al, 2017; Hogg et al, 2013) and are ideally placed to deliver interventions for children with behavioural problems (Myors et al, 2014; Cowley et al, 2013). Parents report positively on health-visiting services and especially value their knowledgeable advice on parenting, child behaviour and development (Brook and Salmon, 2017).