If the child is hard to manage and you keep hitting or yelling, take a parenting class that teaches concrete skills

For children who were already hard to manage, after parents took a class that teaches concrete skills, hitting and rule-breaking went down, and parents’ mood improved. Parents also hit and yelled less — clearest right after the course, still there one to two years later but much smaller. Shanghai has tried this kind of class; it worked.

Cost

Parent schools run by schools and kindergartens, and online parent schools run by governments at provincial level and above, are written in law as public-interest. The evidenced programs meet weekly or every other week, 1 to 2 hours each time, from four to twenty-four weeks. Practice at home is required. The hard part is finishing and practicing every day.

Benefit

Cochrane pooled 13 trials, 10 of them lot-assigned, 1078 parents. Children aged 3 to 12 all had behavior problems. Included programs met weekly or every other week, 1 to 2 hours each time, at least three sessions. Short ones ran 4 weeks straight; long ones 24 weeks. After the course, children’s behavior problems fell. Parent ratings SMD −0.53 (95% CI −0.72 to −0.34, credible range); independent raters −0.44 (−0.77 to −0.11). SMD and d are the same scale; 0.5 is medium. Parent mental health improved, −0.36 (−0.52 to −0.20). Harsh or negative parenting fell: parent ratings −0.77 (−0.96 to −0.59), independent −0.42 (−0.67 to −0.16). Authors say these are short-term effects. Another meta-analysis screened 346 lot-assigned trials; 60 measured hitting and yelling of children, across 22 countries. Hitting and yelling fell right after the course, d = −0.46 (−0.59 to −0.33). At 1 to 6 months −0.24 (−0.37 to −0.11). At 7 to 24 months −0.18 (−0.34 to −0.02), smaller later. Most of these data are parent-reported. There are domestic trials too. Shanghai randomized 81 parents; some took Triple P group classes. After the course, children’s adjustment problems and parents’ parenting and mood were better than waitlist parents, and still at 6 months. At a rural kindergarten, 191 caregivers took part; some self-studied online lessons plus two group discussions. Two weeks after finishing, self-reported child-abuse behaviors were about 33% lower than in those who only got a book (IRR 0.67). At three months, children’s behavior problems were also lower (d = −0.40). The Family Education Promotion Law (家庭教育促进法) requires parents to study family-education knowledge on their own. Primary and secondary schools and kindergartens may run parent schools and hold regular public-interest family-education guidance. Residents’ and villagers’ committees may run community parent schools. Governments at provincial level and above must run public-interest online parent schools and service hotlines. Family-education guidance bodies must not organize for-profit training (nationwide, in force from 1 January 2022)

Notes

Grade A because of numbers pooled from Cochrane and multiple lot-assigned trials. Programs in the trials share a few traits. Instructors teach concrete skills — for example playing with the child, praise, rewards, and discipline. Parents practice and role-play in class and get homework. Programs that only handed out materials or only discussed were excluded, so the evidence does not cover one lecture. What domestic public parent schools teach and how varies by place and may not be this kind. When choosing a class, see whether it runs for several weeks and makes you practice concrete skills. Common program names in the two meta-analyses include Triple P and Incredible Years. This book does not recommend specific providers or paid products. The drop in hitting and yelling shrinks after one to two years; keep practicing after the course ends. Beneficiaries are the child and you. If the child already has severe mood problems, take them to psychiatry or child psychology — see item 8 of this section (depression screening).

Sources · 5

1. Furlong M, McGilloway S, Bywater T, Hutchings J, Smith SM, Donnelly M. (2012). Behavioural and cognitive-behavioural group-based parenting programmes for early-onset conduct problems in children aged 3 to 12 years. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (2), CD008225. doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD008225.pub2
2. Backhaus S, Leijten P, Jochim J, Melendez-Torres GJ, Gardner F. (2023). Effects over time of parenting interventions to reduce physical and emotional violence against children: a systematic review and meta-analysis. eClinicalMedicine, 60, 102003. doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.102003
3. Guo M, Morawska A, Sanders MR. (2016). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Group Triple P With Chinese Parents in Mainland China. Behavior Modification, 40(6), 825–851. doi.org/10.1177/0145445516644221
4. Wang W, Zhang H. (2026). A self-directed parenting program to reduce the risk of child maltreatment in rural China: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Child Abuse & Neglect, 173, 107937. doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2026.107937
5. 全国人大常委会 (2021). 家庭教育促进法（第十八、二十五、三十一、三十八、四十条）. flk.npc.gov.cn/detail?id=ff8081817cac3b2d017c…