Lots of territory covered, as usual, on today's program...but we started off with good reasons to keep a log of incompatibility episodes: if you don't identify specific unsolved problems, then those episodes become one big blob (defined as a shapeless mass)...you can't solve problems unless you know what they are, and that's the first step in getting rid of the blob.

What do you do when you can't sling your 15-year old over your shoulder anymore during meltowns? Solve those problems collaboratively and proactively. But that's not the only question that was answered during today's program.

Some great phone discussions today...we received an update from an old friend about a kid we've known for years, helped a mom try to extract more information from her adolescent daughter, and revisited the can't versus won't debate (which shouldn't be a debate at all anymore)...

Parents sometimes behave in ways that they then regret. What to do afterward? Plan B. What to do beforehand? Plan B. Does a psychiatric or special education label move things along? Not when it comes to identifying lagging skills and unsolved problems.

On this, our first program of fall, 2016, Dr. Greene and Susy responded to lots of questions, including several about how to use Plan B on problems causing conflict between siblings.

If you're using the CPS model, does that mean you no longer have expectations for a child?  Goodnesss, no.  You can't parent without expectations; you can't have influence without expectations. How you respond when your child is having difficulty meeting your expectations...well, that's where Plan B comes in real handy.

We adults are a whole lot better at noticing behaviors we don't like in our kids than we are at identifying expectations the kids is having difficulty meeting...and that's the hard part in wording unsolved problems. Fortunately, help is provided!

If you're solving problems proactively, does that help you out if you're stuck in the heat of the moment? This and lots of other questions answered on today's program!

What are the characteristics of a good school for a behaviorally challenging kid? You'll have to listen to the program to find out. And that's not all that was discussed on today's program...

As always, lots of territory covered with our callers on today's program...but we began with an article from the Huffington Post about a mom who demonstrated great empathy for her son in the midst of Plan A. The big question: why didn't she do Plan B instead?