Beyond Time Out: Restoring Parenting Power Dynamics

 

Beyond Time-Out: From Chaos to Calm
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Beth Grosshans, a clinical and child psychologist in New Jersey with 25 years of experience, is the author of Beyond Time Out, a parenting book. Over the course of the book, Dr. Beth Grosshans attempts to determine why, despite their best efforts, so many parents fail to provide their children with an adequate home environment.

According to Beyond Time Out, power dynamics lay at the heart of most parental issues. As one might surmise, when children wield more power than parents, the results are beneficial to neither. Known as imbalanced family power (IFP), a shift in power dynamics can be attributed to the growing trend of parents seeking to protect their children against any harm and provide unconditional love. While these are not inherently harmful parenting techniques, the result can sometimes be children who believe they rank above their parents in the home’s social hierarchy.

A number of symptoms may indicate that a child’s behavior is the product of IFP. These symptoms, many of which mirror those of psychological disorders, include hyperactivity, oppositional defiance, anxiety, and chronic insecurity. Fortunately, the effects of IFP can generally be reversed by restoring traditional power dynamics. Beyond Time Out features a full chapter on parenting styles, putting both negative and positive parenting techniques into a new light. The book also features a five-step plan that addresses IFP behavioral issues in the short term and reverses their mpact over the long run.

Beyond Time Out – A Guide to Family Power Dynamics

An experienced child and family psychologist, Dr. Beth Grosshans has treated patients of all ages. Dr. Beth Grosshans, author of Beyond Time Out, currently consults with schools and families to develop power dynamics that are healthy for children’s development.

First published in 2008, Beyond Time Out serves as a response to the current prevalence of uncontrolled children and chaotic families. The book describes these trends as a result of parents feeling that they lack control over their children. Beyond Time Out explains that children know when adults no longer have control, and that this awareness causes them to feel anxious and insecure. Not having the skills to cope with this insecurity, they act out.

Beyond Time Out attributes this power imbalance to contemporary parenting styles The book explains that the past half century has taught parents how to nurture and support their children but has neglected to teach them to lead. The book instructs parents on how to communicate clearly and presents an actionable five-step strategy known as the Ladder, which can help parents regain control and reestablish a family power dynamic that makes children feel safe.