All parents - even ones who are no longer together - need to consistently work as a team for the sake of their children, otherwise they are putting across very mixed messages. This is where the Common Ground technique comes in

When Jo visited the Newton family, she realised that Vicki and Aaron, while both wanting to do the best for their children, actually dealt with them in completely different ways.

Because the children behaved well while with him, Aaron didn’t discipline them for their bad behaviour when they were with Vicki. Jo was keen for Aaron to be more involved in disciplining the children, so she set the pair up with a new technique, The Common Ground Technique.

In this technique, Mum and Dad need to write down their goals for their children and try to find common ground on which they both agree. Those goals should be prioritised and then worked on together. It doesn’t matter whether you are a couple who are still together, separated or divorced - you can still work together to get the best out of your kids.

For example, Vicki wanted her children to stop name calling, and Aaron agreed. Aaron then said that he wanted open, direct communication, and Vicki agreed. Once they knew they had common ground, they felt they were starting afresh and were working as one to resolve some serious issues.