Mom Ends 4-Year-Old’s Tantrums With 1-2-3 Magic (NAPSA)—Raising a preschooler is no easy task—and just when you think you have your brood under control, a new baby maybe all it takes to upset the applecart. That’s what one mother from Raleigh, North Carolina, recently experienced. “My 4-year-old son started having explosive and violent tantrums several months ago (they started once his baby brother became semimobile and began invading his space),” says Marla Cox, mother of two. “The tantrums slowly got worse (clawing, punching, biting, etc.) despite our attempts at curbing them.” Tantrums often bewilder parents, especially when the explosions come from a previously placid youngster. When parents don’t know how to handle the emotional outbursts, adults often use aggressive-butineffective “tactics” that make everyone feel bad. Moms and Dads then get upset with themselves and each other. “My once wonderful son had become unpredictable. I had become an angry, yelling mother that I did not like. My husband wastotally frustrated with our son and with myyelling, so he did none of the disciplining (which only further aggravated me),” said Cox. Something had to give. Fortunately for the Cox family, their family doctors were familiar with a program called 1-2-3 Magic: Effective Discipline for Children 2- 12. 1-2-3 Magic offers parents effective ways to manage children’s emotional outbursts. Developed by a parent and clinical psychologist, the program provides simple and specific advice on managing arguing, yelling, tantrums, fighting, whining and so on—without arguing, screaming or spanking. “Both our pediatrician and my personal physician recommended 1-2-3 Magic,” said Cox. “After watching the video, my husband and I started the program thefollowing day.” It has only been two weeks but things are getting back to normal at the Cox household. “My son is back and so am I. I don’t yell anymore and he hasn’t had a violent outburst since the first time he hadto ‘take five.’ The past several days have been the most pleasant we have had in a long time,” said Cox. Helping parents to enjoy their kids and saving a few marriages is what 1-2-3 Magic is all about, says the program’s developer, Dr. Thomas W. Phelan, himself a parent of two. “We get letters and emails like this mother’s a lot, because 1-2-3 Magic is based in reality. It’s easy to learn and it works. You don’t have to be a genius, a saint or a mental health professional to do it right.” Phelan adds that parents don’t have to simply take his word for it, or to rely only on the success stories of other parents—even though there are hundredsof such narratives. Moms and Dads can turn for information on 1-2-3 Magic to one of Toronto’s biggest hospitals, The Hospital for Sick Children. This hospital recently completed a large, controlled study which looked at 220 families in which the parents were trained (via the 1-2-3 video) to use 1-2-3 Magic with their 3- and 4-year-old children. The results? The survey found a major and statistically significant improvement in the children’s behavior. Also—and equally important—a large drop in parental stress, depression and hostility. Available as a book and video (English and Spanish), 1-2-3 Magic has sold over 700,000 copies. The book can be found in bookstores, by calling 1-800-4424453, or visiting www.thomas phelan.com.
