Parenting Through Adversity

What?

• Parents’ engagement with parenting support depends heavily on the quality of their relationship with practitioners
• When practitioners build trust through respect, empathy, and are anti-discriminatory, parents feel safe to express their emotions, which reduces shame and stigma. This helps them gain confidence in their parenting and strengthens communication with their children
• In contrast, authoritative or judgmental approaches from practitioners can lead to feelings of criticism and discourage parents’ ongoing engagement.

Why?

• Trusting and respectful relationships make parents feel valued and understood, encouraging them to participate fully and sustain their engagement
• Support delivered in open and respectful ways reduces stigma, builds confidence, and improves outcomes for families – especially those facing structural challenges, such as poverty, discrimination, or housing difficulties.

When there is a lack of trust between parent and practitioner, engagement declines, and the impact of support is reduced.

To translate this into practice:

• Build trust and collaboration at all levels of support
• Leaders should create supportive systems that prioritise co-production, workforce training, and accessible, inclusive services to enable this
• All practitioners should approach families with respect, curiosity, and a strengths-based mindset – recognising parents as experts on their own situation and avoiding stigma
• Supervisors and practitioners should focus on consistent, transparent communication, empower parents to build confidence, and address structural barriers that may hinder engagement.

What?

• Family dynamics can be complex and may at times be a barrier to engagement or completion of parenting support programmes
• Practitioners who approach these dynamics with curiosity help families feel understood and supported
• By exploring the reasons behind behaviours and identifying existing strengths within the family, practitioners build on what is working well and promote positive change
• Trusted practitioners also provide a neutral, structured space where families reflect on their relationships, understand each other’s perspectives, and communicate more openly, leading to improved outcomes.

Why?

• Curiosity and a systemic approach enable practitioners to see behaviours within the broader context of family relationships, vulnerabilities, and experiences
• When families feel that their circumstances are understood and heard, trust and engagement improves
• This approach helps strengthen parent–child relationships, supports emotional openness, and boosts parental confidence
• Conversely, when family dynamics are misunderstood or approached with stigma, engagement can decline and opportunities for improvements in family functioning may be lost.

To translate this into practice:

Promoting curiosity, reflection, and an understanding of individuals’ situations in work with families.

• Senior leaders should prioritise reflective supervision and manageable workloads to enable practitioners to engage meaningfully with complex family dynamics and provide training in strengths-based approaches
• Practice supervisors and practitioners should approach family interactions with openness and curiosity, seeking to understand what behaviours reveal about family experiences and relationships
• Practitioners should engage all family members, act as balanced mediators, and create safe spaces for open and honest communication.
• Practitioners should focus on identifying and building on existing family strengths and resources, recognising and reinforcing what is already working well
• Practitioners should adapt the timing, pace, and focus of support to suit a family’s circumstances, while managing safeguarding risks sensitively and collaboratively with other agencies as necessary.

What?

• Parenting programmes can help parents build confidence in supporting their child or young person when faced with behaviours that challenge
• This confidence often stems from a clearer understanding of how to set and maintain appropriate boundaries as well as respond calmly and consistently
• It is particularly valuable for parents of young people, who may have previously felt disempowered or blamed when managing challenging behaviours
• Group-based interventions can further strengthen confidence by helping parents reduce isolation and share experiences, recognising that change can take time
• Where challenging behaviours may indicate risks outside the home or additional needs, further multi-agency support (such as with health, education or youth justice prevention) is essential.

Why?

• When parents feel more confident and supported, they are better able to respond constructively to challenging behaviours, improving relationships and outcomes for both parent and child
• Confidence enables parents to persevere with new strategies even when progress is slow, reducing stress and feelings of blame
• Collaborative, multi-agency responses ensure that families receive the right level of support when behaviours may reflect wider risks such as extra-familial harm, trauma, or unmet needs.

To translate this into practice:

Building parents’ confidence through coordinated, strengths-based, and trauma-informed support.

• Leaders should promote joined-up working across services, ensure clear referral pathways, and equip staff with training that combines behaviour management skills and a trauma-informed understanding of youth development
• Practitioners should support parents to understand potential causes of challenging behaviour, set consistent boundaries, and recognise when wider multi-agency support beyond parenting support is needed
• Practitioners should support parents to build on their strengths, track their progress, and stay motivated as change develops over time.