Mad River Behavioral Health

 I’ve always advised parents to be like Jello.  Jello is firm, yet fun and fruity.  *** There are three primary parenting styles - authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive.  Each are effective in raising children to become productive adults. Each has strengths and weaknesses.  Permissive parenting generally produces adults who have  higher self-esteem and tend to be high achievers.  While still children, there may be more behavioral problems.  Authoritarian parents (strict, often harsh and punitive) produce adults that have lower self-esteem and tend to be lower achievers. As children, there are fewer behavior problems - while adults are watching - although covert behaviors (lying, being sneaky) tend to be higher.  Authoritative parents produce the most successful adults. Authoritative parents are firm, but willing to discuss rules and expectations. Authoritative parents use a lot of verbal reasoning from a very early age. Their children ...

Only through the full and unconditional love and acceptance of each of our children, exactly as they are at any given time, complete with their full array of human flaws, can we even begin to lovingly and gently guide and support them in developing the skills and abilities they will require to become the successful adults we all hope they will become.  Kenneth H. Little, MA  603-726-1006 KenLittle-NH.org

A Guide to Behavioral Intervention Assess intellectual, instructional, learning, and situational factors and how they affect / contribute to the behavior problem. Develop and utilize a decision-making tree. Identify specific problem behaviors and their source / function. Conceptualize positive alternative behaviors. Progressively teach, coach, and support the student in developing and utilizing the positive alternatives: healthy, value-system-based behavioral and coping strategies in support of school / community / family success. Encourage the practice and progressive growth of positive alternative behaviors with coaching and positive, proactive behavioral planning. Scaffold: provide more support, encouragement, and behavioral skill instruction until the child begins to show some sense of competence, then wean and monitor.   Alter academic / instructional components as needed in accordance with assessment data and educational best practices. Establish realistic exp...

Years ago, I had a conversation with a man about corporal punishment. He was in favor of it.  Then I asked him what he thought of older kids beating up on little kids.  He was opposed to it, stating that when he was young the rule was that little kids could not be hit or harmed and the older kids looked out for them, protected them from bullies. Then he got it.  Growing up, it seems, many of us held an ethic that required older kids to protect younger kids from being harmed.  Neither we, nor anyone else was allowed to hit the little kids. What happens that causes parents to lose touch with this ethic?   How do people become transformed from holding a protector of little kids ethic to being parents who think it's their right and responsibility to harm little kids? The vast majority of all forms of child abuse happens inside the family. In certain US states (a wee bit under half), corporal punishment in public schools is still legal.  More on t...

When you arrive home from work ... your family should be happy to see you. Contemplate this. Part of my professional perspective has been informed by my personal parenting adventures, or more accurately - misadventures.  (Ask me about the popcorn incident some day.)  It's truly amazing what one can learn by living fully immersed within the situation one teaches about. Just briefly, my wife died when our two sons, Jake and Braden, were 4 and 5 years old.  She had been struggling with cancer for quite a while and as she became more and more debilitated, I took over more and more of what had been a beautiful shared parenting partnership. I won't go into the gruesome details, but ... my transition into single parenthood was not a fluid, seamless process.  There were some very real struggles for me as I adapted to the solo role.  Sometimes, these struggles spilled out onto the boys.  It wasn't pretty.  The first lesson I learned was how to regr...

Anger management If you want your children to be able to take space in order to calm down, you will need to be very good at taking space to calm down.  Parenting is leadership by example. More on this soon. 

Excerpted from Ken's Parenting Guide Leadership Parents are the leaders of the family. Parents lead children in growth and development toward adulthood. Parents lead by example.  Leadership is not power.  Leadership is wisdom. Vision / Long Term Desired Outcome In order to lead, parents need to have a sense of what their long-term desired outcome is. As a parent, what are you trying to accomplish in raising children? Having a good sense of the desired outcome will help you navigate through difficulties more effectively. Keep the big picture and the long-term plan in mind. Don't get lost in the small stuff, the immediate challenges. Know Your Family's Value System Keep your value system at the forefront of your parenting effort. Write it down. Talk with your children about your values. Parents instill values in their children gradually over time. Live according to your value system. Guide accordingly. Keep the Whole Child in Mind Often as pa...

Education: Tufts University Degree: Master of Arts Major Subject Area: School Psychology Professional Experience: 25 Years of clinical experience working in residential, day treatment, and public school settings with children, adolescents, and families struggling with behavioral and educational challenges. Kenneth H. Little, MA Consulting Services New Hampshire 603-726-1006 KenLittle50@gmail.com / www.achieve-es.com