Connect and shape: A parenting meta-strategy

Abstract

The existing parenting literature is dominated by two worldviews: the behavioral worldview and the relational/emotional worldview. Points of tension between these worldviews are apparent within the scientific literature; however, both approaches can be fully incorporated into an evolutionary science paradigm including contextual behavioral science. Connect and shape is a parenting meta-strategy that combines behavioral and the relational/emotional strategies into a single parent-child interaction. The elements of connect and shape are not new. What is new is the combination of parental responsiveness/emotion coaching and behavioral parenting strategies into a single, clearly elucidated meta-strategy that can be easily incorporated into parenting intervention.