How to deal with pushy parents: treat them like demanding children

As the author of a best- selling book on childcare, she is known for helping parents cope with teething, toddlers and tantrums. Now Gina Ford is turning her hand to a new task – telling teachers how to deal with pushy parents.  And the key to her advice? Treat them just like demanding children.

Miss Ford, who has divided mothers with her ultra-strict advice, insists difficult parents must be taught the importance of ‘boundaries’ and be treated with a ‘fair but firm’ hand. She told the Times Educational Supplement: ‘Applying good boundaries to a pushy parent is just as necessary as applying good boundaries to a demanding child.

‘A pushy or demanding parent needs to understand that he or she can’t fundamentally alter the way the school operates. ‘Good schools will work with the parent to improve communication and resolve matters successfully, but being fair but firm may be the only way to deal with a really demanding parent.’ Former maternity nurse Miss Ford, who does not have children of her own, is a pioneer of the controversial ‘controlled crying’ technique for babies – where children are left to cry themselves to sleep.  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2672923/Pushy-parents-Treat-like-petulant-children-Adults-need-boundaries-says-leading-childcare-guru.html

Thought provoking. It is all very well having self-proclaimed experts giving us advice as long as we can take it or leave it.
 
However, in Scotland, parents whether demanding or not, will soon have to understand that they will not be able to alter how GIRFEC works. Personal data on the family can and will be gathered and shared  with or without their consent. Advice will be given and the alarm will be raised if it is not accepted. A red flag will appear on their file sparking off closer monitoring.

The named person will be allowed to use their professional judgement and that is the problem because there is no authority a parent can turn to, in order to get a second opinion, if they do not agree. It does not matter that actually experts disagree and there are passing fads.

This totalitarian control system is set to operate in August 2016.