Triple P. Positive Parenting Progress the 'Triple

Triple P. Positive Parenting Progress The 'Triple P' Program is marketed with a somewhat startling and troubling slogan: "Parenting now comes with an instruction manual!" This confidently seems to suggest that the program is superior to a parent's gut instincts and conventional wisdom. The program allegedly is an internationally award winning-program and "backed by over 25 years of clinically proven, world-wide research" and "has the answers to your parenting questions and needs" (Welcome to Triple P, 2011, Official Website).

However, on the website the actual studies backing up the program are apparently done by individuals who work for Triple P. The 'research articles' in support of Triple P. are extremely vague, and the much-touted five different levels of intervention do not actually outline specific strategies, but rather the different intervention levels one can purchase (Sanders et al., n.d). The research articles supporting the intervention are made to look like they come from a peer-reviewed journal, although they are not.

The principles of the program are very vague, and seem to revolve around assertive discipline, self-regulation, and other behavior modification principles, although precisely how these principles are enacted is uncertain. The fact that Triple P. is trademarked underlines the fact that it is a commercial product, not an objective research study. Finally, and perhaps most troublingly, there is no clear explanation of the types of problems the program is specifically attempting to address in children.

Conduct disorder, attention-deficit disorder, and other disciplinary problems often use behavioral modification therapy (which is not trademarked and is offered by many therapists). The program seems to vaguely revolve around such an intervention, but it does not even say that it should be mainly used for children with established problems, versus those who might merely be bored or high-spirited. Healthier Options for Public School Children (HOPS) study Childhood obesity is an issue of great concern on both the federal and state levels.

The HOPS program is an initiative of School District of Osceola County. The county conducted a combination research study / initiative called Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren (HOPS) Study. The study was designed in two phases. The first phase, 2004-2005, specifically was designed to improve the nutritional content of school lunches and other meals by lowering the sugar and fat and increasing the fiber.

The second phase, 2005-2007, was a curriculum-wide intervention that introduced lifestyle educational interventions "to explain why the changes to foods served in the cafeterias are so important to one's health and well-being" (Preliminary results, 2011, HOPS). One of the greatest problems in engineering dietary interventions is resistance -- students resist having familiar foods like chicken nuggets and fries altered. This was designed to break down such resistance. HOPS' school-age participants were compared with a control group of similar ethnic demographics.

The experimental group showed a reduction in their BMI after the intervention was complete, unlike the control group. "Get the Shot Not the Flu" study or research "Get the Shot, Not the Flu" is a common health campaign slogan of state agencies that urge residents to get the flu shot. In Virginia, as in all states, virtually all residents are urged to get flu shots. However, the information Virginia specifically gives on the flu and flu shots is incomplete and somewhat misleading on its website.

"Only two of the viruses mentioned above (influenza and rotavirus) are currently preventable by immunization. Washing your hands frequently and thoroughly, getting enough rest, staying home when ill, coughing into your elbow, and eating a well-balanced diet may decrease your chances of getting sick or passing an illness to others." This warning could actually deter people from getting immunized, given that it suggests there are so many illnesses one can contract, even if one does get the vaccine. There is no information about different types of vaccines (inhaled vs.

injected), or a list of persons who should not get the shot (such as people with egg allergies).