Helena Bonham Carter's Magic Wand for Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting

Online, December 16, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Contact:
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Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting
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Helena Bonham Carter's Magic Wand for Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting

Helena Bonham Carter, the Oscar-nominated actress currently appearing as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter films, has been in the news since she described parenting as harder than acting, and revealed that she has limited her time on movie sets to enable her to attend a series of parenting classes. Who needs parenting classes and what exactly did Bonham Carter learn?

The actress and partner Tim Burton have a seven year-old son and two-year-old daughter. Bonham Carter said that instinct wasn't enough when it came to parenting, and that she was weary of "becoming this policewoman, this negative being and nagger" when dealing with her children. "The parenting bit is much harder than the acting bit," Bonham Carter said. "You just never know what to do." The actress chose the "Calmer, Easier, Happier" parenting course developed by behavior specialist Noel Janis-Norton.

Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting consists of specific, positive strategies designed to help children become more motivated, self-reliant, and respectful. Unlike some "theoretical" approaches, Janis-Norton's methods are based on highly specific steps parents can take. Helena Bonham Carter was bothered by one of her children's whining. How did Janis-Norton's program help? Bonham Carter said, "You learn these skills, and there are three main ones: Descriptive praise, preparing for success, and reflective listening. Descriptive praise really works."

Noel Janis-Norton explains: "Descriptive praise is different from the evaluative praise we're all used to - phrases like 'good job,' 'terrific,' and 'great!' Very quickly these over-used expressions lose any effectiveness as motivators. On the other hand, descriptive praise involves the parent specifically noticing and acknowledging some behavior we wish to encourage. So a parent can say something like 'You asked for juice without whining. What a friendly voice!' I suggest parents challenge themselves to use descriptive praise at least ten times a day if there is a specific behavior they wish to encourage. And of course it can also be used to reinforce the absence of negative behavior."

According to Helena Bonham Carter, "the parenting class has been really useful. The skills really work, and as a parent you become happier because you're observing all these good things about your child."

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