First Day Hands On..

After months of begging and pleading and filling out paperwork my family was finally approved for in home behavioral therapy services. Services began last Monday and to be honest I was a bit skeptical when she left two cd's from the Total Transformation Program (the one you see on late night infomercials) But the disc had some valid points and it's not all the therapist has up her sleeve. Yesterday after she left things didn't really go as planned and Hubby and I argued most of the evening because I was stressing because he wasn't following the *ground rules*. Which are NO TV OR COMPUTER WHILE THE CHILDREN ARE AWAKE... I am considering rehab for my blogging addiction... LOL! Nell (Therapist) leaves assignments for us each time she visits and then we report how things went... so far it has been pretty easy but today she left my first hands on down and dirty assignment.. I had to start implementing some of the techniques she demonstrated.. It's pretty basic stuff, ignoring tantrums, rewarding positive behavior, following thru with commands and directions. MY PERSONAL ASSIGNMENTS: 2 days of 30 min workout, Apply for Pell Grant- check on childcare funds that are paid via Pell Grant, Tell children what to do not ask them ( I have a bad habit of saying why don't you.... instead of go do... ) These are to be completed by Thurs. Implementing the techniques was harder than I had expected but was tremendously rewarding. They didn't work at first and still aren't working entirely but even in one afternoon things have changed. My children haven't changed but my self esteem has sky rocketed I have more confidence as a parent. I have come to the conclusion that I need to take a "single mom" approach to parenting even though I am not single. I can no longer blame my husbands parenting issues on why I lack effective parenting skills.. I must hold myself accountable for my actions and decisions as a parent. Well I must go.. I have PECS charts to work on and Nell will rip me a new one if my homework isn't finished... For those of you have children with behavior problems what works best for you? How do you handle tantrums? What is your bedtime routine? What ground rules do you have in your home?