Abstract
Introduction: Research into parenting programmes has typically found that parental wellbeing, parenting practices and child wellbeing are linked, with increased parental wellbeing and supportive parenting practices resulting in better wellbeing and outcomes for children. As such, parenting programmes have focussed on supporting parents in how to best manage their child’s behaviour. However, these programmes have been largely based on professional opinion and ignore parental perspective. Research has suggested that what parents want and need from a programme may be different to what is being offered (Hill et al., 2007). Aims: The research aimed to understand what a group of parents thought about elements within current parenting programmes. Method: A q-sort methodology was used to elucidate parental opinion about the parts of a programme that would have the most impact on their ability to parent effectively. 64 parents were asked to sort a number of statements about current parenting programmes on offer using an online tool. Results: A principal components analysis was undertaken with 60 statements and 64 q-sorts. This yielded three factors that were interpreted to represent three different understandings of parenting programmes. “A parenting toolkit of skills”, “Fix me first” and “Nurture the nurturer”. The factors shared some similarities of what parents report with current programmes on offer (e.g. therapeutic relationship, universal, childcare provision) but also highlighted areas where parents wanted different things. The results are discussed in light of the demographics of the individuals assessed and how this may impact on future parenting programmes. Conclusion: the results indicated that the main theme overlapped with the typical concepts embedded in well-established programmes in services. There are however a small group of parents where these concepts did not meet their needs. Consideration needs to be given to more mature parents, single parents and fathers.