Speaker
XAVIER MÉNDEZ
UNIVERSITY OF MURCIA. SPAIN
Full Professor of Psychology at the Faculty of Psychology and Speech Therapy at the University of Murcia, tutor professor at the affiliated center in Elche of the National Distance Education University, and guest lecturer at other Spanish and foreign universities. Specialized in Clinical Psychology. Director of the Ojos Solares, Guías para Padres y Madres, and Psicocuentos collections, published by Ediciones Pirámide, focusing on psychological treatment in childhood. Co-author with Esther Egea of the book “Six Steps to Change Our Child’s Disobedient Behavior.”
In 2014, he was awarded the AITANA Prize for his contribution to clinical child and adolescent psychology.
Who’s in Charge at Home? Six steps to address child disobedience
Negativistic, oppositional, and defiant behavior is one of the most common reasons for seeking help in the clinical practice of child psychology. Parents complain about problems with meals, battles at bedtime, struggles to pick up toys, tantrums when things don’t go their way, and a long and frustrating list of other issues. Is it possible to get your child to obey without resorting to yelling, scowling, exhausting arguments, and fights at home? How do you deal with the power struggle initiated by your child? The psychoeducational method called PEPA teaches parents, and other caregivers of children aged three and older, to address childhood disobedience in order to prevent this normal developmental behavior from taking root and becoming a real problem.
It consists of six steps: 1. Observe the child’s behavior, 2. Pay attention to the child, 3. Avoid labeling the child, 4. Educate with authority without being authoritarian, 5. Maintain self-control in conflict situations, 6. Set limits on child behavior. The method achieves a significant change in parents’ educational style and a clear improvement in child behavior.