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Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsBed-Sharing Raises SIDS Risk Fivefold, Study FindsHealth Tip: Help Keep Teen Drivers SafeHealth Tip: Taking a Birthing ClassMany Parents Texting, Phoning While Driving Their Kids: SurveyBlind Cords Pose Danger to Toddlers, Doctors WarnHealth Tip: Manage Visitors After Bringing Home BabyPoor Parenting Styles Linked to Bullying Behavior in Kids'Clean Your Plate' Orders From Parents May Backfire for KidsPopular Cinnamon Stunt Can Have Serious Lung EffectsMany Parents Text, Phone With Kids in Car: SurveySocial Networks Affect Parents' Vaccination Decision-MakingParenting Magazines Give Little Attention to Sun ProtectionParents Will Push for Medication, Even If Doc Says Not NeededParent-Focused Classes May Help Tots at Risk for ADHDKids of Better-Educated Parents Have Healthier Diets: StudyPre-College Parental Chat May Reduce Freshman DrinkingSame-Sex Parents May Face Harsher Criticism Than OthersCertain Parents Less Likely to Follow Doctors' Advice: PollFamily Meals Nourish Teens' Mental Health: StudyFour in 10 Babies Given Solid Foods Too Early, Study FindsPicky Eating in Youngsters Might Be Largely Caused by GenesReady-to-Eat Foods for Toddlers Often Too Salty: StudyChild Health Experts Come Out in Favor of Same-Sex MarriageReasons for Refusal of HPV Differ From Other VaccinesParents' Worries About HPV Vaccine on the Rise: StudyKnow What's in Your Child's Medications, FDA WarnsAvoiding Scary Situations May Leave Kids More Anxious: StudyERs Need to Do More to Inform Parents on Child Seat SafetySports Help Dads, Daughters Bond, Study SaysHeart-Healthy Habits in Childhood May Prevent Future DiseaseSports, Other Shared Activity Aids Father-Daughter BondingAAAAI: EpiPens Should Be Given in Lower Thigh in Heavy KidsHealth Tip: Serve Up a Healthy After-School SnackPoll: Many Americans Don't See Their Kids as OverweightPediatricians Say No to Expulsions, Suspensions at SchoolsPediatrics Group Issues New Ear Infection GuidelinesExperts Dispute Value of Checking Kids' Blood PressureHealth Tip: When Your Child Has a HeadacheParents: Revealing Your Past Smoking, Pot Use May Not Help Your KidsCodeine Risky for Kids After Certain Surgeries, FDA SaysChildhood Bullying Can Leave Lifelong ScarsMany Younger Parents Weigh Online Doctor Reviews: PollOnline Bullying Just As Harmful for Children As OfflineSwitching Kids Away From Violent TV May Lower AggressionHealth Tip: Sled Safely'Hovering' Moms May Take Fun Out of Play'Cyberbullying' as Harmful as Physical Threats, Study FindsGirls' Peers, Not Media, May Exert Most Pressure to Be ThinSchool Bullies Often Popular, Survey FindsIntervention Helps Mothers of Children Diagnosed With Cancer Questions and AnswersLinksBook Reviews |
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Introduction to Adventures in ParentingNICHDHave you heard the latest advice about parenting? Of course you have. From experts to other parents, people are always ready to give you parenting advice. Parenting tips, parents' survival guides, dos, don'ts, shoulds, and shouldn'ts, new ones come out every day.
 But with so much information available, how can anyone figure out what really works? How do you know whose advice to follow? Isn't parenting just common sense anyway? How can the experts know what it's like to be a parent in a real house? What's a parent to do? Try RPM3, a no-frills approach to parenting from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). RPM3 stands for: - Responding to your child in an appropriate manner.
- Preventing risky behavior or problems before they arise.
- Monitoring your child's contact with his or her surrounding world.
- Mentoring your child to support and encourage desired behaviors.
- Modeling your own behavior to provide a consistent, positive example for your child.
For over 30 years, the NICHD has conducted and supported research in parenting and child development. We?ve talked to experts, parents, and children. We?ve collected statistics, identified myths, and tested suggestions. The result is RPM3. The RPM3 guidelines aren?t meant to be just another parenting "how to", telling you what to do. Instead, RPM3 separates the useful information from the not-so-useful so that you can make your own decisions about parenting. RPM3 does more than tell stories about what people think about parenting, it incorporates 30 years of NICHD research to tell you what really works. RPM3 confirms something that you already know: parents do matter. You matter. Read on to find out just how much... The first section of this booklet explains each item in RPM3, responding, preventing, monitoring, mentoring, and modeling, in more detail. These lessons describe how RPM3 can help you make daily decisions about parenting. The remaining sections of the booklet give examples of how some parents have used the lessons of RPM3 with their own children.
As you read, you will notice numbers, like 1 or 7 next to certain words. These numbers relate to the research that supports an idea or concept, listed on the References page. These references give you more information about NICHD parenting research.
Table of Contents
Letter from the NICHD Director Dear Fellow Parent, As parents, we have the most important job in the world. There is nothing we do in our lifetimes that is more significant than how we raise our children. It?s a challenging, full-time job that lasts throughout our lives, no matter how old our children get. While parenting presents us with struggles and trials, it also offers us many rewards. Those rewards, too, can last through our lives.
This booklet addresses certain struggles and trials of parenting and highlights some of its many rewards. The information is based on decades of research on parenting, as well as the experiences of actual parents and experts in parenting. The booklet is designed for parents of every background, from first-time parents to grandparents, so that any one who interacts with children can benefit from this valuable information.
Parenting is not only vital to our present, but also to our future, as our children themselves become parents. Raising children is an adventure, full of surprises and changes. I hope that this information helps you to shape your own parenting practices and beliefs, as you embark on your own parenting adventure. Sincerely Yours,
Duane Alexander, MD
Director
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development |
