Professor Matt Sanders, a clinical psychologist from Australia who devised the Triple P (Positive Parenting Programme) scheme more than 30 years ago, attended the launch of the initiative yesterday at Anderston Primary School before giving a seminar to parents of pupils at Ibrox Primary School.
Sanders believes early intervention during childhood can help to combat a society’s problems over generations.
His programme, based on five key principles designed to create a positive environment for children and improve the wellbeing of parents, will now be offered to all families in Glasgow as part of moves by the health board and council to stop behavioural problems developing.
Sanders said: “It is very much about developing healthy strategies that enable parents to parent strongly so kids don’t go on to develop serious behavioural problems.
“If you start [children] off well in a protective environment and make sure they are getting the kind of parenting they require, it reduces the risk that these kids are attracted to other kids getting into strife and trouble.
“Of all of the things we could do as a community trying to crack crime and substance abuse, what is a better candidate than kids being parented well?”
The project, which is run in 20 countries and will cost £542,000 in its first year in Glasgow, will be available to families with children up the age of 16, but will be offered first to parents or carers of pupils entering primary one.
Liz White, 35, was among about 30 people who attended the session. White, a mother of three, had previously attended a three-month Triple P course and said both she and her partner benefited from learning new approaches to parenting.
“It did me the world of good,” she said. “I kept saying to people that I have been really lucky that I have good kids. But at Triple P they said it is not luck, it’s 1% nature, 99% nurture. It’s how you bring them up. Hearing how other parents deal with things and swapping ideas was really helpful.”
Linda de Caestecker, joint director of public health at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Glasgow City Council, said early years intervention was an important way of improving public health, while also boosting the confidence of parents.
She said health visitors would play a crucial role in trying to ensure parents took advantage of the classes.
She added: “Glasgow has public health challenges from poverty and disadvantage through to alcohol and drug addiction and it is particularly important that we lead the way in this in terms of parenting and intervention in early years. It is not the whole answer to the problem, but it is a really important part.”
