Parent Child Interaction Therapy

When the girls first came we quickly dismissed one therapist but the second one actually had a better understanding of the issues that we were dealing with.  I went through her Parent Child Interaction Therapy.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent%E2%80%93child_interaction_therapy


We went through specific play times in a monitored room.  I had an ear bud and the therapist directed me in what to do.  At this time I am going to do it again at home with Emma specifically because I feel that her behavior is causing a negative relationship to develop between us.  By using a specific play therapy I hope to improve our relationship while taking control away from her in regards to stealing food.


Specifically I will be using the PRIDE skills......

PRIDE skills

Parents are taught an acronym of skills to use during special time with their children.
PRIDE stands for the following:

P – Praise

R – Reflect

I – Imitate

D – Describe

E – Enjoyment

This acronym is a reminder that parents should describe the actions of their child, reflect upon what their child says, imitate the play of their child, praise their child's positive actions, and try to enjoy the special time.


The program starts with the parent imitating the child but progresses to the child imitating the parent. Control is taken from the child and given to the parent.  Both the parent and the child have to really observe and listen to each other.  All my children enjoyed doing it and spending the one on one time with me.  I have specific toys and art supplies that are reserved for when we play this way.


There is more involved with the program.  I didn't do all of it because my parenting skills weren't the problem.  I did find this way of playing with the girls to be very helpful when they first came and were so challenging.