Kazdin Method for Parenting by Alan Kazdin
The Kazdin Method for Parenting by Alan Kazdin is a book that provides parents with the tools and strategies they need to effectively manage their children’s behavior. The book draws on decades of research to provide evidence-based techniques for improving parenting skills.
It focuses on the “ABCs” of parenting: antecedents, behavior, and consequences. The book also emphasizes the importance of creating a nurturing environment in the home, as well as providing routines and rituals that can help improve a child’s performance at home and at school.
The book also explains how to customize the universal principles of changing behavior to fit each individual situation. It emphasizes the use of rewards to create positive habits that replace bad behavior, and encourages positive parenting.
Dr. Kazdin also explains why talking and explaining are weak methods of changing behavior, and why it is important to define a positive opposite and reinforce it consistently.
The book also provides step-by-step instructions and demonstrations to improve parenting skills with both children and adolescents. It is designed to help parents understand that although they may not be responsible for their child’s behavior, there is much they can do to develop the behavior they do want.
Main Themes
• The importance of creating a nurturing environment in the home.
• The use of rewards to create positive habits that replace bad behavior.
• The need to customize the universal principles of changing behavior to fit each individual situation.
• The importance of defining a positive opposite and reinforcing it consistently.
• The need to provide step-by-step instructions and demonstrations to improve parenting skills with both children and adolescents.
Useful Takeaways
• Create a nurturing environment in the home.
• Use rewards to create positive habits that replace bad behavior.
• Customize the universal principles of changing behavior to fit each individual situation.
• Define a positive opposite and reinforce it consistently.
• Provide step-by-step instructions and demonstrations to improve parenting skills with both children and adolescents.
What I Liked
I love how approachable and tactical the book. It’s not theoretical at all, even though it’s evidence-based.
I love how encouraging the book is and how it provides a useful foundation & language for parenting – similar to How To Talk…
What I Did Not Like
Like How To Talk So Kids Will Listen, I think he could have had multiple disclaimers that life is always messier than the book and that the book’s tools are sort of a baseline. You’ll still have to work at it to change behaviors.
Also, just to quibble, I wish the book title did not include “defiant” – I think that wording likely turns off a lot of potential readers who may benefit from the book. My children are nowhere near “defiant” – they are amazing. But we all benefit from the tools in this book.
