PARIS (AFP) - A new study
shows that
parent training programs
fail to reduce behavioral
problems in toddlers, suggesting
that coaching on how to rear
children may be a waste of time
and money.
On average, behavioral
problems afflict every seventh
child aged 4 to 17, previously
studies have shown.
Aggressive or extremely
defiant youngsters are said to
have externalised problems,
while those of kids who
withdraw, or suffer anxiety and
depression, are described as
internalised.
Troubles in childhood often
have serious personal, social
and economic consequences later
in life, experts say.
Left untreated, approximately
50 percent of preschoolers with
behavior problems develop
mental health problems,
including depression.
Besides the direct cost of
treatment, there are social
costs as well: unemployment,
family stress or violence, drug
use and increased crime have all
been linked to behavioral
difficulties very early in life.
One approach is to deal with
the problems as they emerge
through counseling, drug
treatment, or psychiatry. But
this is expensive, and not
always effective.
Another tack is to try to nip
the problems in the bud by
discouraging the kind of
parenting that can lead to
troubled behavior, such as
unduly harsh discipline and
unrealistic expectations.
For the study, published in
the
British Medical Journal,
researchers enrolled 300 mothers
and their eight-month old tots
in the
Melbourne area into the
training program.
Unlike earlier studies, this
one looked not just at
high risk families, but a
representative sampling of
parents and children from poor,
middle income and wealthier
families.
The scientists, led by
Harriet Hiscock at the Centre
for
Community Child Health in
Parkville, Australia,
compared behavior of the test
group over an 18 month period
with another set of mothers and
kids who did not receive any
special counseling.
The results showed very
little difference between the
two groups.
Mothers in the program were
somewhat less abusive and
acquired more realistic
expectations of how quickly
their children would progress.
But there was no significant
difference is the level of
behavior problems in the
children, or in the mental
health of the mothers.
"The outcome at two years are
insufficient to support
widespread introduction of a
very early universal program
to prevent behavioral problems
in toddlers," the researchers
conclude.
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