$750.00

Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN

Why the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN is so special

As S.S.GRIN transforms the world of social-emotional learning from complex to captivating for children, the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN parallels the child intervention, and carries parents through a journey of learning how to best model and teach social-emotional learning to their own children. It can be used as an adjunct to the child intervention or as a separate parent training tool. Like all SELmedia products, the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN is evidence-based, and is filled with easy-to-use scripts and innovative activities to help families discover prosocial strategies together.

Why parent involvement in social-emotional learning matters

Parents are the primary social coaches for their children, always modeling skills and concepts for how to navigate social situations. Children constantly observe and often absorb the actions, responses, and communication patterns of their parents. Extensive research shows that problems with making and keeping friends have a significant negative impact on a child's functioning and mental health. Peer problems contribute to school failure, alcohol and drug abuse, serious aggression and criminality, and depression. Futhermore evidence reveals that improved peer relationships foster not only a happier child, but also promote peaceful school climates and stronger academic achievement. Children learn by example and parents are their first teachers. Teaching parents prosocial skills is a pathway to teaching children.

Online Resources

Components

Click here for the Parent Guide trailer

Each Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN kit includes:

1 Professional Manual ( View Table of Contents):
- Administrative Guidelines
- 10 session scripts and Companion "Quick Point Guides."
- Supplemental reading lists for parents, children, and professionals
- Web resources
15 Family B.I.L.L.Boards (Building In a Learning Landscape)

40 Parent Handouts tailored to fit age-appropriate needs of group's member children (20 for parents of children aged 6-8, 20 for parents of children aged 8-12).
1 set of cards for group activities.
A set of Instructional DVDs/Videos entitled Building Social Relationships: Parents and Children Working Together

One of the most productive methods of improving children's peer relationships is to combine a child intervention with a parent intervention. Proven through research, parents who participate in the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN grow more skillful in helping their children solve social-emotional problems. As the ability to navigate social and emotional challenges increases, evidence reveals corresponding academic, social, and behavioral benefits for children.

Who Benefits from the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN?

All parents would benefit from a program that promotes the development of positive relationships and prosocial behavior in their child. However, S.S.GRIN and the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN is specifically designed to address the needs of children who:

Feel left out or have few if any close friends
Are the targets of bullying or teasing by peers
Behave aggressively towards others
Are socially anxious or withdrawn
Display immature social skills

The Benefits of Multiple Application Methods

The Parent Guide is highly effective whether used in conjunction with S.S.GRIN groups for children, or as a stand alone group for parents. Also the innovative set of Parent Handouts(which can be purchased separtely) provide a way for self-directed learning for parents unable to attend a group. Using the Methods of Change and featured activities, parents are guided through concrete, age-appropriate, and effective methods they can use at home with their child to teach and practice specific social skills and concepts. These methods include activities and suggestions that are easily implemented by parents, and are engaging and fun for the whole family.

The Parent Guide is Grounded in Research

To evaluate the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN's effectiveness, a study was conducted of 43 school age children with peer relationship problems and their parents. Families were assigned to one of three conditions: Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN only, Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN and S.S.GRIN, or no treatment control. Examination of the magnitude and direction of change in functioning revealed several improvements for parents and children in the two treatment conditions. S.S.GRIN Publications

Click Here to Learn About the Methods of Change

Objectives

The main objectives of the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN are:

To help parents gain knowledge of how to build basic behavorial and cognitive social-emotional skills.
To reinforce pro-social attitudes and character traits.
To help parents gain knowledge of how to help their children build adaptive coping strategies for social problems such as teasing, isolation, and bullying.

The following social-emotional skills are taught in S.S.GRIN and are paralleled in the parent guide:

Respect for yourself and others
Making and keeping goals
Being responsible
Communicating your thoughts and feelings
Understanding your own and others' perspectives
Making and keeping friends
The importance of cooperation
Understanding emotions

Who is the parent guide to S.S.GRIN for?

All parents would benefit from a program that promotes positive relationships and prosocial behavior in their child. However, S.S.GRIN and the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN are specifically designed to address the needs of children who:

Feel left out or have few close friends
Are the targets of bullying or teasing by peers
Behave aggressively towards others
Are socially anxious or withdrawn
Display immature social skills

Mental health professions including school counselors, social workers, and psychologists will find this innovative and detailed curriculum package easy-to-use within school or clinic settings. Click the "Components" tab to see an outline of the combined elements of the S.S.GRIN 3-5 kit.

How is the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN Implemented?

The Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN parallels the child intervention S.S.GRIN, a small group therapy program that enhances the social-emotional skills and peer relationships of elementary age children. The Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN can be implemented in three different ways:

As an adjunct to the child intervention to educate parents regarding the skills and concepts taught through S.S.GRIN
As a separate parent training group, independent of the child intervention
In self-directed learning through the Parent Handouts

If implemented through a small group format, each session is designed to last 50 minutes and is typically offered once a week. Within each session, specific social-emotional skills are taught through dynamic instruction and practice (games & activities). Leaders are guided in how to use modeling, positive reinforcement, and cognitive reframing to support the specific skills within each session.

Self-directed Learning and the Methods of Change

A unique objective of the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN is to provide a means for self-directed learning for busy parents. The Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN Parent Handouts (make link to the Parent handout page) make self-directed learning possible for parents who want to help develop their child's social skills but are unable to attend the group sessions. There are 40 Parent Handouts covering the social-emotional skills and concepts featured in the Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN which guide parents through activities to continue practicing skills at home. The primary strategy for how to guide parents to teach social-emotional skills and concepts are contained within the Methods of Change (make link to the same page linked at the top of this section) and the engaging, age-appropriate family activities featured in each publication. The Parent Handouts accommodate the busy life styles of the modern family, and still provide a means for parents to learn and practice skills with their children at home.

Training and on-going support are integral components to successful implementation of S.S.GRIN. SELmedia provides customized on-site training to meet your system's needs. Initial training as well as booster sessions are available. Contact training @ SELmediainc.com to learn more about our training and support packages. On-line training and support courses will be available at www.SELmediainc.com beginning July 2008.

What others are saying about The Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN:

"The Parent Guide gives parents a common language with their children to help guide the development of strong social skills. In my experience with the program, I have seen parents become more confident in their parenting skills and families increase positive communication."
--Don Fernando Azevedo, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist

"The Parent Guide to S.S.GRIN empowers parents to have discussions and interactions with their children that not only enhance children's social skills, but greatly improves the connection between parent and child."
--Jennifer Baddour, LCSW