Lifestyle & HomeBeginnerPreview
Positive Parenting
Learn the research-backed authoritative parenting framework and daily tools that build secure attachment, self-regulation, and cooperation in children of all ages.
Parents and caregivers of children aged 2–16 who want to move beyond yelling and punishment toward a calmer, more connected family dynamic.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook accompanies the Positive Parenting course and gives you hands-on exercises, reflection prompts, and practical templates for every module. Complete each section as you finish the corresponding lessons, then return to your notes weekly as your practice deepens. The goal is not perfection but a consistent upward trend in connection, clarity, and calm across your family.
The Authoritative Foundation
Audit your current parenting style, understand your child's developmental brain stage, and map your own attachment history to identify your default patterns.
Exercise: Parenting Style Self-Audit
Read each scenario and write how you would most likely respond today — honestly, not ideally. Then revisit your answers after completing the module and note which style each response reflects.
- Your 8-year-old refuses to eat dinner and says the food is disgusting. What do you do and say?
- Your 12-year-old comes home with a failing grade on a test they said they had studied for. How do you respond in the next 10 minutes?
- Your 5-year-old has a full meltdown in a grocery store because you said no to a treat. Describe your response step by step.
- You said screens off at 7:00 pm. At 7:15 pm the child is still on the tablet. Walk through exactly what you do and say.
Worksheet: My Child's Developmental Brain Stage Profile
Fill in the details for each child in your household. Use the lesson content on prefrontal cortex development and the four age-band descriptions to complete the profile.
- Child's name and current age
- Current developmental band (2-5 / 6-10 / 11-14 / 15+)
- Key brain-development characteristics at this stage (3-4 bullet points)
- Typical behaviours I currently find most challenging
- Which of these behaviours are developmentally normal for this stage?
- One expectation I currently hold that may not be developmentally appropriate
Checklist: Daily Secure-Base Habits
- Follow the child's lead in play for at least 15 minutes today without directing, correcting, or checking my phone
- Notice and respond to at least three bids for connection (look up, engage, make eye contact)
- Narrate one of my own emotional experiences out loud in front of my child as a model
- Maintain the bedtime routine exactly as agreed, including the same sequence and timing
- Initiate a repair for any parenting rupture that occurred today before the child goes to sleep
Section
Practice the daily tools for emotion coaching, Special Time, and repair that keep your relationship strong even through the hard moments.
Exercise: Emotion Coaching Practice Log
For the next five days, record one emotion-coaching moment per day — a real situation where you noticed your child's emotion and practised the five steps. Write what actually happened, not what you planned to do.
- Describe the situation: what was happening when you noticed the emotion? What emotion did your child appear to be experiencing?
- What did you say or do in the first 60 seconds? Did you stay in curiosity or did you problem-solve, dismiss, or lecture? Be honest.
- What emotion label did you offer? How did your child respond to being named?
- How did the situation resolve? Did you hold any relevant limit while empathising? What would you do differently next time?
Worksheet: Special Time Design Sheet
Use this worksheet to design your Special Time practice for each child in your household. Completing this in advance increases follow-through rates significantly.
- Child's name
- Agreed day(s) and time(s) for Special Time this week
- Duration (15-20 minutes recommended for children 3-10; 20-30 for older children)
- Location and setting (where will you hold it to minimise interruptions?)
- What will you name it — what does your child call this time?
- What type of play does this child most love? (List 3-5 activities they typically choose)
- What is your biggest challenge with PRIDE skills? (Questions / Commands / Criticisms / Phone) — pick one to focus on this week
- How will you transition out of Special Time? (2-minute warning script)
Checklist: Repair Practice Checklist
- After a parenting rupture, I wait until I am genuinely calm before attempting repair
- My repair starts with acknowledging what happened without qualifications or excuses
- I name the likely impact on my child ('I imagine that felt scary / unfair / hurtful')
- I make a specific commitment to doing differently — not a vague 'I will do better'
- I do not expect or demand immediate forgiveness — I give my child time if they need it
- I do not bring up the original behaviour issue during the repair — that is a separate conversation
Limits, Consequences, and Collaborative Problem-Solving
Design enforceable family limits, evaluate your current consequence practices, and run your first Collaborative Problem-Solving conversation.
Exercise: Consequence Audit — Punishment or Teaching?
List the five most common consequences you currently use in your household. Apply the Three Rs test (Related, Respectful, Reasonable) and the natural/logical/unrelated classification to each one.
- List the five consequences you use most often. For each, identify: is it natural, logical, or unrelated to the behaviour it is supposed to address?
- For any consequence you classified as unrelated (punishment), what would a related logical consequence look like for the same behaviour?
- Apply the Three Rs test to your most-used consequence: is it Related to the behaviour? Is it delivered Respectfully (calm tone, no lectures)? Is it Reasonable in proportion?
- Which of your current consequences has proven least effective? What does that tell you about whether it is teaching or controlling?
Worksheet: W-E-I-R-D Limit Design Sheet
Choose three persistent behavioural issues in your household and design a clear, enforceable limit for each using the W-E-I-R-D checklist. Write the limit as you will actually state it to your child.
- Behavioural issue you want to address
- Current limit (if any) — write exactly what you say now
- W: Is this Within your control? (yes/no — and if no, reframe the limit so it is)
- E: Is it Enforceable without the child's cooperation? (yes/no — if no, redesign it)
- I: Is the consequence Immediate enough for this child's developmental stage? (yes/no)
- R: Can you deliver the limit and consequence Respectfully, calmly, every time? (yes/no)
- D: Will you Describe the limit and consequence to your child in advance, before the next infraction? (yes/no — if yes, when?)
- New limit statement — write the exact words you will use
Checklist: Collaborative Problem-Solving Readiness Checklist
- I have identified a persistent unsolved problem that is safe to address with Plan B (not an emergency or safety issue)
- I have chosen a time when both my child and I are calm, fed, rested, and not rushed
- I am genuinely prepared to listen to my child's concern before sharing my own
- I will not defend the expectation or problem-solve during the Empathy Step — I will only gather information
- I will share my concern as a need, not a rule or ultimatum
- I will let my child's solution idea come first if possible
- If the first Plan B solution fails, I have framed this in my mind as information, not failure — we will try again
Exercise: Plan B CPS Conversation Planner
Before your first CPS conversation, plan each step in writing. After the conversation, record what actually happened and what you would adjust.
- What unsolved problem are you addressing? Describe the recurring situation in one or two sentences.
- Empathy Step: write the opening question you will use to gather your child's concern — remember, it is exploratory, not rhetorical. What follow-up drilling questions will you have ready if the first answer is vague?
- Define the Problem Step: write out your concern — not a rule, but a need or impact statement. Keep it to two sentences.
- After the conversation: what solution did you land on together? Is it realistic? Does it actually address both concerns? When will you check back in to see if it is working?
Encouragement, Praise, and Family Culture
Replace evaluative praise with descriptive encouragement, launch your first family meeting, and build the self-care habits that sustain your positive parenting practice.
Exercise: Praise Makeover Practice
For each evaluative praise phrase below, write an alternative that uses process praise, descriptive praise, or observation-plus-feeling. Then add two of your own common praise phrases and convert them.
- Convert each of these: 'Good job!' / 'You are so smart!' / 'You are amazing at soccer!' / 'That is the best drawing I have ever seen!'
- Think of a recent moment you praised your child. Write what you actually said, then write a descriptive or process-based version that conveys the same approval without the evaluation.
- Observe your child doing something positive today — anything. Write a descriptive praise statement using specific, observable details rather than any judgment word.
- Notice your child's effort or strategy on a difficult task this week. Write a process praise statement focused entirely on their approach, not the result.
Worksheet: Family Meeting Design Sheet
Use this worksheet to plan and debrief your first three family meetings. Complete the planning section before each meeting and the debrief section immediately after.
- Meeting date and time
- Who will chair this meeting?
- Agenda items posted this week (list each item and who submitted it)
- Compliments round: who will give compliments to whom? (everyone to everyone — write a reminder plan to prep children in advance)
- Last week's solution follow-up items (if applicable — what was agreed last week?)
- Planned fun activity or treat to close the meeting
- After the meeting — what worked well?
- After the meeting — what felt awkward or did not work?
- After the meeting — one specific adjustment to try next week
Checklist: Parental Self-Care and Sustainability Habits
- I am getting 7–9 hours of sleep at least 5 nights per week — if not, I have identified one change to prioritise this
- I have at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity scheduled in my week
- I have at least one 2–5 minute regulation practice I can use to interrupt an escalating parenting moment (name it below)
- I have at least one adult relationship outside my household I can turn to for support without judgment
- I am tracking my weekly repair ratio — not to judge myself but to notice the trend
- I am recording one specific positive parenting win per week to savour and reinforce the neural habit
- I hold a consistent weekly family emotional climate check — I rate connection on a 1-10 scale and reflect briefly on the drivers
Your Action Plan
- Identify your default parenting style honestly — take the self-audit in Section 1 within the next 24 hours, before you implement any new strategies
- Pick one child and launch Special Time tomorrow at a consistent time; keep a written log of three sessions before evaluating whether it is working
- Post a family agenda sheet (whiteboard, notepad, or fridge sticky) this week and invite everyone to add items before your first family meeting
- Choose one persistent behaviour challenge and apply the W-E-I-R-D limit design process; announce the new limit to your child in advance with the stated consequence
- Practise the four-step repair sequence within 24 hours of your next parenting rupture — do not wait for a big incident; start with a small one
- Replace evaluative praise ('Good job') with at least one descriptive or process-praise statement every day this week; aim for specific and observable
- Hold your first Plan B CPS conversation on a low-stakes unsolved problem this week; use the conversation planner worksheet to prepare
- Audit your five most-used consequences and convert at least two from punishment to related logical consequences
- Build one micro-recovery practice into your daily routine — box breathing during the school run, a two-minute walk before homework time — and commit to it for 14 days
- Schedule your first weekly family meeting for a consistent day and time within the next seven days; keep it to 30 minutes and end with something fun
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