Positive Systems Approach
with Dr. Bob Carey
A Practical Guide for Real Family Life
The Parent’s
Companion
Understanding and responding to
45 common parenting challenges.
What if your child’s behaviour isn’t the whole story?
Mornings that become battles. Homework that ends in tears. Screen time that leads to another argument. Explore what may be happening—and what you can change to make a better response possible.
A companion book to "What If It's Not Just the Behaviour?" A new way to parent with a positive systems approach
Start with what feels familiar
When everyday routines become exhausting
The morning battle
Another reminder. Another refusal. Everyone starts the day feeling frustrated. Every morning, eight-year-old Noah refuses to get dressed. He hides under the blankets, argues about every item of clothing and eventually becomes tearful. His parents interpret the behaviour as stubbornness, but the morning has become a predictable collision between time pressure, multiple verbal instructions and Noah’s dislike of certain clothing textures.
The homework struggle
Getting started seems impossible, and helping turns into an argument. Eleven-year-old Liam spends forty minutes avoiding homework before anyone gets a pencil moving. He says he has no homework, loses papers, complains that the work is stupid and eventually becomes angry when his parents insist.
Parents Disagree About Discipline
One parent believes the child needs firm consequences; the other responds with reassurance and often reverses the first parent’s decision. The child quickly learns to ask the more permissive parent.
“What is this behaviour telling me—and what would help my child respond differently?”
On the Origins of Positive Systems Approach
Earlier Books in the Positive Systems Approach Series
What if it's Not Just The Behaviour?
A New Way to Parent with a Positive Systems Approach
Available from Amazon in Kindle and paperback editions.
In response to popular demand asking for more detail on how Positive Systems Approach would apply to parenting
Play the video below to hear Dr. Carey introduce Positive Systems Approach to parenting.
Written by Dr. Bob Carey and Terry Kirkpatrick, this foundational book draws on decades of experience supporting individuals with developmental disabilities, their families and community support teams. It introduces the Positive Systems Approach, combining Applied Behaviour Analysis with a broader understanding of how relationships, environments, personal history and support systems influence behaviour. Through practical guidance and case examples, readers learn to identify contributing factors, teach useful skills and create conditions that help prevent challenging behaviours while supporting independence and quality of life.
