100 parents attended a parenting skills course

A clear framework for children and parents

„Parents are given the right tools and taught how to use them so that the outcome is as good as possible,“ says Kolbrún Sigþórsdóttir, project manager for the PMTO parenting programme with the council.

In total, 100 parents attended the PMTO parenting skills course with the City of Hafnarfjörður last year. The parents receive instruction and are trained in supportive methods for their parenting role, where PMTO stands for Parent Management Training – Oregon. „Oregon is the state in the United States that Iceland is in contact with,“ says Kolbrún.

Four standard PMTO courses are taught each year. One of them, the third this academic year, starts next week and is taught once a week for 2 hours at a time over eight weeks.

„It's fully booked, but parents can request a place on the course through their child's school. The courses have been very successful, so at the moment the waiting list is very short,“ says Kolbrún.

„These courses are good for all parents,“ she says. „A great emphasis is placed on teaching and training good communication skills that work not only at home but everywhere.“

Guiding parents since 2000

PMTO parenting skills have been used and taught in the town of Hafnarfjörður since the turn of the millennium. Kolbrún says the method is well-researched, it is constantly evolving, and PMTO trainers must maintain their knowledge in order to be allowed to teach.

„Regular and intensive supervision for PMTO trainers supports professional practice and ensures good teaching and training for parents,“ she says, adding that not only are traditional PMTO courses taught in Hafnarfjörður, but one to two PTC courses are also held (Parenting through CHang on which are both longer and more detailed.

„Then, teachers follow up with parents to support them and encourage them to use the tools,“ she says. Individual PMTO courses are also offered.

„We get the parents, and even grandparents – the ones closest to the children – to come to us, and we teach for an hour at a time. The sessions can be 14-25, depending on how it goes,“ she says, mentioning that the PMTO toolkit for all these courses includes the following tools:

• Instructions
• Encouragement
• Emotional control
• Setting boundaries
• Solution to a problem
• Monitoring and liaison with schools

Kolbrún says the training is essentially about teaching parents to take charge of their children's upbringing. To supervise them, and to teach them how to gather relevant information. To teach them to ask the right questions, for example at parents' evenings, and to show their children constructive interest.

„Yes, be curious about what the child is doing. Sit down with the child. Give them your attention, show an interest in what they are doing and engage in conversation.“

Parents of children aged 4-12 can attend PMTO.

Kolbrún says that in PMTO, the emphasis is always on encouragement and focusing on positive behaviour. „Parents are coached to spot positive behaviour, verbalise it, praise it and encourage it to increase the chances of the child displaying it more often. That is always the starting point.“

She says all parents of children aged 4-12 in Hafnarfjörður can apply for PMTO training. „This is a fantastic training course that emphasises positive communication between parents and their child.“

Parents get to give their opinion on the PMTO courses at the end. „These are excellent results. Everyone sees some difference and parents say: “Wow, we as parents are so much more in sync,„ says Kolbrún, adding that parents report feeling more confident in their responses to their children's behaviour. “They say: There's more calm and routine in our home life.'