Incredible Years Parent Training Programs (2008)

The Incredible Years parent training intervention is a series of programs focused on strengthening parenting competencies (monitoring, positive discipline, confidence) and fostering parents' involvement in children's school experiences in order to promote children's academic, social  and emotional competencies and reduce conduct problems. The Parent programs are grouped according to age. Babies & Toddlers (0-3 years), BASIC Early Childhood (3-6 years), BASIC School-Age (6-12 years) and ADVANCE (4-12 years). Descriptions of these programs are on this page below.

The Leader's manuals for these programs include questions commonly asked by parents, brainstorm and values exercises, role play practice suggestions, home activities and handouts. These manuals can be used when the program is being self-administered by a parent or teacher either at home or in a clinic or school. These manuals may be purchased separately. (Pre-2008 BASIC Parent video programs are available in French, Danish, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.)

The parenting programs are recommended by the American Psychological Association Task Force as meeting the stringent "Chambless criteria" for empirically supported mental health intervention for children with conduct problems.

See the Parent Program Overview of goals and summary (PDF) (5/09)

See Parent Program Sample Sessions of parent groups

See also the Program Objectives Table

Parents: Babies Program

Ages 0-12 months. The Incredible Years Parents and Babies program supports parents and their babies. The Parents & Babies program consists of a 6-part program focused on helping parents learn to observe and read their babies' cues and learning ways to provide nurturing and responsive care including physical, tactile, and visual stimulation as well as verbal communication.

Part 1 - Getting to Know Your Baby (0-3 months)

Part 2 - Babies as Intelligent Learners (3-6 months)

Part 3 - Providing Physical, Tactile and Visual Stimulation

Part 4 - Parents Learning to Read Babies' Minds

Part 5 - Gaining Support

Part 6 - Babies' Emerging Sense of Self (6-12 months)

**Program materials description coming soon

See also the Babies Program Objectives for the detailed objectives

Parents: Toddlers Program

Ages 1-3. The Incredible Years Parents and Toddlers Program supports parents and builds optimal parenting skills. The Parents & Toddlers program consists of an 8-part program focused on strengthening positive and nurturing parenting skills. Each program builds on the previous.

Part 1 - Child-Directed Play Promotes Positive Relationships

Part 2 - Promoting Toddler's Language with Child-Directed Coaching

Part 3 - Social and Emotion Coaching

Part 4 - The Art of Praise and Encouragement

Part 5 - Spontaneous Incentives for Toddlers

Part 6 - Handling Separations and Reunions

Part 7 - Positive Discipline-Effective Limit Setting

Part 8 - Positive Discipline-Handling Misbehavior

See also the Toddlers Program Objectives for the detailed objectives
And the program structure in pyramid view

BASIC - Preschool/Early Childhood Program

Ages 3-6. This training is comprised of Programs 1 - 4. The program focuses on strengthening parenting skills and consists of components which build upon one another.*

Program 1 - Strengthening Children's Social Skills, Emotional Regulation and School Readiness Skills

Program 2 - Using Praise and Incentives to Encourage Cooperative Behavior

Program 3 - Positive Discipline - Rules, Routines and Effective Limit Setting

Program 4 - Positive Discipline - Handling Misbehavior

*See the full table of goals and objectives (PDF)

Program materials include:

• 9 DVD's (9 hours total) which can be shown in 18-20 weekly 2-hour group sessions

• comprehensive leader manual (consisting of over 800 pages of "how to", including leader questions for discussion, home activities, and interpretation of videotapes)

• parent weekly "refrigerator notes" (brief points to remember for the week)

• parent take-home practice assignments for home activities

• book for parents titled The Incredible Years: A Troubleshooting Guide for Parents (also available as audio CD - 15 chapters on 8 CD's)

• refrigerator magnets

• pyramid poster – the pyramid shows how the program builds a positive foundation first, with an emphasis on relationship skills, before beginning to discuss discipline strategies

BASIC Preschool Home Visiting - Coaches & Parents Manuals

For the preschool/early childhood parent program we have developed a home visitor coaching model. This one-on-one parent-coach model is an option for use if parents cannot attend parent groups because of schedule conflicts or if a group program is not available in the time needed to start an intervention with a family. This model may also be used for parents who are attending an Incredible Years group but who need some additional coaching at home with their children. Parents who may benefit from this additional home visiting coaching include the following:

• parents referred or mandated to take the IY program because of child abuse or neglect

• parents who have missed some IY group sessions due to illness or work schedules

• parents attending IY groups who are having difficulty understanding and using the recommended parenting techniques with their children and/or fail to do the home assignments

• parents with developmental delays or mental illness

These home visits may be done by "home visitor coaches" who have received authorized training in the Incredible Years concepts and principles. During these home visits coaches help parents practice targeted parenting strategies that they are having difficulty with directly with their children. Coaches also show some additional video vignettes not covered in the groups to reinforce their learning. In addition to the protocols for 10 topic areas, there are also parent manuals for the four main topics so that parents can keep track of their goals for each session, brainstorming decisions, values exercises, reading and practices with their children. (Parents use the Self-Administered program manuals.)

BASIC - School Age Program

Ages 6-12. This series focuses on the importance of promoting positive behaviors, interpersonal issues such as building social skills, and effective praise.* The program comprise the following components:

Program 9 - Promoting Positive Behaviors in School Age Children

Program 10 - Reducing Inappropriate Behaviors in School Age Children

Program 8 - Supporting Your Child's Education

Program materials include same as above (Preschool BASIC), except:

• 7 DVD's or videotape (6 hours)

*See the full table of goals and objectives (PDF)

ADVANCE

Ages 6-12. This series builds on the BASIC School Age Parent Training Program by focusing on parent interpersonal issues such as effective communication and problem solving skills, anger management and ways to give and get support. The program comprise the following components:

Program 5 - How to Communicate Effectively with Adults and Children

Program 6 - Problem Solving for Parents-Adults

Program 7 - Teaching Children to Problem Solve

Program materials include:

• 7 DVD's or videotapes (5.5 hours) These can be shown in 9-11 weekly two-hour group sessions

• Comprehensive leader manual

• Parent weekly "refrigerator notes" (brief points to remember for the week)

• Parent take-home assignments for home activities

• Book for parents titled The Incredible Years: A Troubleshooting Guide for Parents (also available as an audio CD)

• refrigerator magnets

• Relationships Pyramid poster

*See the full table of goals and objectives (PDF)

See Parent Program Sample Sessions of parent groups

See the order form for complete pricing