Parents often face daily behavioral challenges with their children, such as tantrums, noncompliance, or difficulties with transitions. These moments can feel overwhelming, but research grounded in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and child development emphasizes the importance of teaching coping skills and equipping parents with practical strategies. By implementing structured approaches in the home, parents can promote self-regulation, reduce problem behavior, and foster resilience.
Why Coping Strategies Matter
Coping refers to the set of skills children use to manage stress, frustration, or changes in their environment. Effective coping allows children to regulate emotions, communicate needs appropriately, and engage in adaptive behavior. When coping strategies are absent or weak, problem behaviors such as aggression or avoidance may occur instead. Teaching coping skills at home provides children with functional alternatives that reduce behavioral challenges and increase independence (Brock et al., 2021).
Parent Training as a Foundation
Recent literature emphasizes that parent involvement is critical to long-term success. Parent-mediated interventions have been shown to reduce externalizing behavior and improve adaptive functioning across populations, including children with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Postorino et al., 2017; Siller et al., 2018). Training parents to recognize antecedents, use reinforcement effectively, and model coping strategies creates consistency across settings, which is key to generalization.
Evidence-Based Coping Strategies Parents Can Use
Functional Communication Training (FCT). Teaching children to request breaks, help, or attention in appropriate ways can replace tantrums or aggression. Research has consistently shown that FCT reduces problem behavior when parents are coached to implement it during natural routines (Gerow et al., 2020).
Emotion Labeling and Regulation. Helping children identify emotions and pair them with regulation tools (deep breathing, squeezing a stress ball) provides alternatives to acting out. Parent-implemented emotion coaching interventions have been found to improve emotional understanding and decrease disruptive episodes (Havighurst et al., 2019).
Visual Supports and Structured Schedules. Predictability reduces anxiety and prevents problem behavior during transitions. Visual schedules and first-then boards allow children to anticipate expectations and cope with changes more effectively (Fitzpatrick et al., 2020).
Modeling and Role-Play. Parents can model calm responses to frustration and practice coping scenarios with their children. Research suggests role-play combined with reinforcement strengthens coping skills and promotes generalization to real-life challenges (Miller et al., 2017).
Reinforcement for Coping. Providing specific praise or tangible rewards when children use coping strategies reinforces adaptive behavior. Differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA) has strong empirical support as a parent-implemented tool to increase compliance and reduce disruptive behavior (Suarez & McBride, 2020).
Supporting Parents in Implementation
While coping strategies are powerful, consistent application can be challenging without support. Studies show that parent coaching using behavioral skills training (instruction, modeling, rehearsal, and feedback) leads to higher fidelity and better child outcomes (Shire et al., 2017). Telehealth-delivered parent training has also become an effective and accessible option for families, particularly for maintaining consistency across home routines (Gerow et al., 2020). These models ensure parents feel confident and competent in their role as interventionists.
Conclusion
Helping children cope with daily stressors is essential for reducing problem behaviors and promoting healthy development. Parents play a central role in this process by teaching functional communication, emotional regulation, and adaptive skills, while reinforcing positive coping responses. Research from the past decade underscores that when parents are trained and supported, coping interventions become more sustainable, effective, and empowering for families. Ultimately, parent-implemented coping strategies transform everyday challenges into opportunities for growth, strengthening both children’s resilience and the parent-child relationship.
References
Brock, M. E., Hume, K., Carter, E. W., & McCauley, J. B. (2021). Coping with stress in children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51(9), 3265–3276.
Fitzpatrick, S. E., Srivorakiat, L., Wink, L. K., Pedapati, E. V., & Erickson, C. A. (2020). Aggression in autism spectrum disorder: Presentation and treatment options. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 16, 647–657.
Gerow, S., Radhakrishnan, S., McGinnis, K., & Ninci, J. (2020). Telehealth parent training to support children with challenging behavior. Journal of Behavioral Education, 29(2), 433–460.
Havighurst, S. S., Wilson, K. R., Harley, A. E., Prior, M. R., & Kehoe, C. (2019). Tuning in to kids: Improving emotion socialization practices in parents of young children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60(12), 1342–1351.
Miller, F. G., Mueller, M. M., & Moore, J. W. (2017). Teaching coping responses through role-play and modeling in children with autism. Behavior Modification, 41(2), 263–284.
Postorino, V., Sharp, W. G., McCracken, C. E., Bearss, K., Burrell, T. L., Evans, A. N., & Scahill, L. (2017). Parent training for disruptive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 20(4), 391–402.
Shire, S. Y., Gulsrud, A., & Kasari, C. (2017). Increasing responsive parent–child interactions and joint engagement: Comparing parent-mediated intervention with parent psychoeducation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(9), 2882–2897.
Siller, M., Morgan, L., Turner-Brown, L., Anderson, R., Baranek, G., & Bodfish, J. (2018). Parent coaching to support joint attention and engagement in toddlers with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(5), 1673–1685.
Suarez, M. A., & McBride, A. (2020). Differential reinforcement strategies for challenging behavior in children: A parent-mediated intervention. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 13(4), 894–906.
