SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- When it comes to parenting, there is no manual, so to help, the Family Advocacy Resiliency Element at Scott Air Force Base has started showing "1-2-3 Magic Parenting" videos by Dr. Phelan.
"The more tools parents have, the better job they will do at raising children," said Terese Brooks, Family Advocacy Resiliency Element Red Cross volunteer. "It's hard being a parent, but this gives parents confidence."
According to the videos, parents have identified four of the biggest problems with kids: picking up, meal times, up and out in the morning and bed time.
The videos attempt to ease parenting with three steps by explaining ways to encourage good behavior such as positive reinforcement and praise, using kitchen timers, the docking system, natural consequences and charting.
For example, a kitchen timer can be set so that kids are encouraged to beat the timer. This can also create healthy competition between siblings.
Brooks, who is a mother of a 2, 6 and 8-year-old, uses charting to help children see their behavior over a certain time and have the chance to earn rewards.
Master Sgt. Laura Gonzales, 18th Air Force mission coordinator, said, "There are so many things I've learned to use with my 5-and-3-year-olds."
Gonzales said she struggles with bed time.
"I used the docking system. They start out with three books, but the more time they take to get in bed, the fewer books they are read before bed," she said. "Positive parenting is very enlightening."
The next showing for the videos is Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Scott Clinic in the Aeromedical Staging Facility conference room. For more information, call 256-7203.