Preempting the Parenting Predicament

STUART, FL--(Marketwire - November 18, 2009) - With popular shows like "Hannah Montana" and "Gossip Girl" glamorizing children and teens engaging in less than acceptable behavior, it's no wonder many children think it's okay to lie, backstab, backtalk and engage in risky behaviors. But three South Florida mothers are using negative role models like these and their actions to open the door to a discussion of what is and isn't suitable behavior in the real world. A year ago, Karin Torsiello, Angelique Walsh and Paula Leonardo, who are all Board Certified Behavior Analysts, started Advantage Behavioral Group, a business based on teaching ways to take a proactive approach to parenting.

"When you choose to have a child, you choose to have your life completely and forever changed," says Torsiello, who is also a mother of three. "We teach parents to use skills that blend the science of how humans interact with their environment and vice versa, and the common sense of everyday parenting."

Recently, Torsiello, Walsh and Leonardo took their proactive parenting expertise outside the office and onto the small screen with a DVD series they co-authored called, "The Secrets of Modern Parenting." The self-coaching DVD series features role playing scenarios, where parents can learn the necessary skills to end arguing, eliminate lying, extinguish tantrums and end backtalk and disrespect.

"There is no parent alive that is perfect and in life tough decisions are going to come at our children faster than they can imagine," stresses Walsh. "So it is important to remind yourself that parenting is a lifelong journey with many trials and errors."

The cornerstone of the modern parenting technique is building a relationship based on trust, safety and consistency with your child. Cultivating that relationship means looking at the past as a learning experience. This will make it easier to deal with a situation, should it arise in the future, and encourage your children to be responsible for his or her actions.

"Children today are constantly exposed to new and potentially dangerous situations and as the environment around us changes, we have to adapt," says Leonardo. "The same is true for the rules of parenting; they must be updated and modernized to reflect today's societal norms."

The DVD series, "The Secrets of Modern Parenting," can be purchased at http://www.amazon.com, or http://www.smp4kids.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Amy Summers 727-848-1618 ext. 202 Pitch Inc.