ABSTRACT
Children learn and adopt coping practices from their parents at a very young age, both through observation and subsequent imitation and through direct instruction. Such engagements between parents and their children serve to foster the development of social emotional competence in the early years. Drawing on the latest research in early years coping and parenting, this chapter provides ways to introduce families to evidence-based positive communication, collaborative problem-solving and proactive/productive coping skills to incorporate into their own parenting practices. It allows parents to reflect on their own coping practices and utilise language in the family context that both mirrors those represented in the children’s visual coping tools such as the Early Years Coping Cards. There are some easy to implement strategies for parents to access from their ‘parenting toolbox’ so as to help raise happy, confident and respectful children. The chapter also provides examples of culturally-responsive tools for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families.
