Week 6 is titled "What to do after your child acts out". James Lehman gives examples of conversations to have with your child once the situation is over and the child is calm. Having a discussion while the child is in the mist of being obnoxious or disrespectful is not the time to work through the issues. This lesson is the heart of the program as James says in the audio. The tools he gives facilitate the parents' response to bad behavior. The idea behind having this conversation utilizing the eight tools is that you are teaching your child alternative responses and problem solving skills.
In the example at the end of the lesson from one of James' sessions he says that after a few weeks of using the "alternative response" method it became a natural process. It helped me realize that we can't expect change in a week. I need to set my expectations so that we don't feel like we are failing and give up.
On a personal note this program has given me hope but also been deflating at times since I find that we have been doing a lot of things correct. We've been working towards a goal for five years and haven't reached it. I am losing hope that we will ever get there. Our school situation is not getting better so we've had to explore options we aren't happy about. We can't seem to escape this hurricane.
