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...
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"…
