Testimonials

Teachers | Parents | Health Professionals

Teachers

"Ashburton Drive PS has used Behaviour Tonics throughout 2005. We felt that the professional development for staff, the follow-up in the classes and the consultations have been highly professional and worthwhile. The impact on the students has been positive and their behaviour has improved. Thanks". Mark Pescud Deputy Principal Ashburton Drive Primary School

"Brad's use of follow-up strategies with staff to address individual concerns helped to maintain the focus upon the simplicity and consistency of the approach. Staff have been empowered to adapt details of the strategy to suit their own management styles and the unique dynamics of their classes. Staff have indicated that they now feel more in control of the management of behaviour in their classrooms. They feel less frustrated at the end of each day and feel that more time is being spent upon teaching rather than controlling or managing behaviour . Brad's involvement in our school has definitely made a difference." Ms Karen Anderson Principal

Dear Brad Thank you for your guidance and advice in the formulation and implementation of our Whole School Behaviour Management Policy.  As you well know, there are a number of students at our school who have particular needs in relation to their behaviour management.  The 1,2,3 Magic program, simple as it is, has had a considerable effect not only on these students but also the whole school.  The program has been implemented throughout this year with statistics showing a better than 50% reduction in the number of suspensions and acts of bullying.  What the statistics don’t show is the improvement in the positive type behaviours – “the start behaviours”. The guidelines of the program are simple and the sequence of consequences, both positive and negative, are clearly articulated.  The clear structure takes away any opportunity for students or parents to say that their child is being treated unfairly. The coaching sessions you offered and implemented with a number of staff were particularly powerful.  Staff thought it was a great opportunity to have someone provide practical feedback about their approach to behaviour management in the classroom. Thank you once again Brad for introducing us to 1,2,3 Magic and the continued support you have offered the school and our parents in the implementation of an effective tool to manage student behaviour.  You have made a positive contribution to our school. Graham Dart Principal - Hilton Primary School

Thanks, 1-2-3 Magic works brilliantly, attending today has reinforced aspects and reminded me of areas I have slipped in. Once again thank you.

Very informative session – will be helpful in assisting families to communicate with their children effectively and with empathy.

Very relevant for assisting clients to manage ongoing behaviour in their children.

Friendly, relaxed atmosphere. Presentation was very professional.

Excellent!

Presenters were great. Thank you.

Thanks for the additional information that Michael included (ie not Tom Phelan’s)

Well done! Thank you I have enjoyed a very informative day. I look forward to completing the day for the classroom.

An excellent PD – inclusive and well organized. Great resources available on the day.

May be good to extend the start section with more experience for practitioners

I really enjoyed the course and look forward to presenting the program to parents.

Use of clinical experiences by presenters was excellent and interesting.

Well worth while.

Thank you. I’m really glad to have attended.

Excellent information, presentation and resources.

Parents

"I can't begin to thank Behaviour Tonics enough. Not only are my children sleeping throughout the night now, but their behaviour is far better 1.2.3 really is magic. We were both very skeptical about the programme but my children are living proof that it really can work. Life begins after 1.2.3. MAGIC...." M.B.

“We just came back from a week away and had such a wonderful family holiday. It would not have been so pleasant, peaceful and stress free without the 1-2-3 Magic.” Happy Parent

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and absolutely recommend it (despite some initial hesitations from my husband whom having attended some courses previously found that they were not as informative or helpful in the long run). This course stands out way ahead of anything we have attended and even my husband saw the immediate results from applying the very simple and effective technique. I wish I had come across this technique a lot sooner... it would have saved me a lot of heartache! It is really really worth it and has changed over lives as a family - disciplining our children is not so hard any more!” Mum and Dad

“I will always be grateful for the guidance given to me by Brad during an extremely stressful time, when, I often felt despaired at what the future held for my much loved child." J.H.

“Thanks so much for all your help. All is going well so far, 1-2-3 Magic is my life saver!! Positive behaviour has been on the increase since Day 1! Parenting can be a challenge, but it can be done. Thanks for your advice." M.T.

"Behaviour Tonics was introduced to our family from a friend after she noticed we were becoming quite distressed with the behaviour problems we were experiencing from our young son. We had heard of different types of parenting methods and were a little reluctant at first, however, after meeting with Brad for the first time were quite delighted that he was a normal everyday person who right from the beginning genuinely showed he cared. I found the 1, 2 3 method a bit hard at first however, with Brad's continued support it soon became apparent that my son needed this and so did we. Brad was never pushy, never said his way was the right way, merely came into our life and adapted to our own family every day life. Obviously he was not about changing us but changing the way in which we handle certain matters. He is a genuine caring person who really helped us see things in a different light. My children really liked him even though at first they too were a bit apprehensive but even today ask "When is Brad coming back?" I would have no hesitation in referring Brad - Behaviour Tonics to anyone who may need assistance with their children. Parenting is not as easy as we think and sometimes having that independent person who is not emotionally involved can make us see things more clearly. Brad has been an inspiration to us and even today emails and calls us to see how we are going. He really is a wonderful person Thanks for your continued support Brad, The Jones really appreciate it!." Jones Family.

What did you like about the course? Strengths?

Hearing ante dotes from facilitator and other classmates.

It’s so easy to understand.

Practical examples

Questions and answers from participants

Question and answer sessions

Excellent subject.

Easy to relate to. Use of good examples. Easy to understand.

Very easy to understand.

Easy to understand.

The method and how simple it is. I participated in the Triple P program. This goes further.

It was simple advice. Logical. Easily rationalized to partner at home.

How easy it was to understand and implement.

Simple. Fair. Able to apply anytime, anywhere, any child.

Knowledgeable presenter with good real world stories to tell.

Great practical examples. Lots of opportunities to ask questions.

Confirming what I thought was a good parenting idea, but didn’t have all the tools. Explained simply and direct.

The amount of explanation.

The method seems very easy. Great presentation.

Liked the mixture between DVD and live talk – to reinforce information. Very approachable, lots of opportunities to ask questions and have discussions.

Well presented with simple instructions and suggestions for all situations.

It was relaxed and simple language. Easy to follow.

Increases confidence to apply discipline to children. Great to hear other people’s stories, a good learning tool also.

It is thorough and provides flexibility and alternatives for different behaviours/ages/ stages/personalities.

As much or as little input. Flexible varying age groups.

Great presentation- loved the examples and being able to ask ’but what about….’

Pointed out own weaknesses.

2nd week was very clear and case study was good.

Clear information, DVD, Tim Tams.

Simple system. Great Review opportunities and support.

Simplicity in concept. Thorough coverage of problems.

Tackling every area of child misbehavior for all ages. Has given me many options to handle many different things, great.

Availability post course.

Finding out different strategies for dealing with stop/start tactics.

A simple (in most respects) plan on dealing with troublesome children/situations.

Clear instruction – reinforcement with DVD. Role playing type examples. Opportunities to answer questions – excellent detail to questions asked!

Simple and concise. Presented well.

It was very straight forward, easy to understand.

Counting is simple to understand. Support from Brad is good i.e. phone calls and emails.

Informative, clear. A great platform to kick off from.  Positive. Immediate signs of improvement.

Simple, straight forward, great examples, all info delivered was relevant. E.g. my kids are 2 years but loved listening to the behaviours of older children too. Good balance of DVD and talking.  Love the ongoing support via phone and email.

Easy to understand- explanations were clear. Delivery was excellent too.

Very simple, great examples. Not too much information.

The straight forward approach.

I liked everything about the course.  The information from the program has opened my eyes, it has given me more confidence.

Teaching me to get the behaviour I wanted without being emotional and yelling. It is very easy to understand and use.

Knowing I’m not alone that other parents are going through similar things. Getting ideas and things to put into practice.

The group participation.

It was simple, allowed for alternatives….it seemed to relate directly to many of the issues that my family were experiencing.

Simple Strategies.

Simple.

I liked the whole presentation. It was all good.

Fairly simple to follow the suggestions. The guy on the video easy to watch/listen to = made sense.

Everything. I liked everything about the course. Made me feel more confident in myself. Everything made sense and very simple.

Very detailed and discussion with other parents was fantastic. Hearing that what I am doing is ok was reassuring.

A good practical approach with lots of alternatives/flexibility, also the background information explanation was informative and gives clarity to why to use the approach.

The simplicity of the method and its general and practical application. Fully satisfied.

Understanding the child’s behaviour and ways to help change it, getting an outside view of the way to handle it.

I liked the fact there was other people out there that felt the same way as me. Other people’s comments.

Simple and specific. The ability to email, phone Brad after the course was completed.

The philosophy of taking the emotion/heat and discussion out of the discipline technique is great. Like the 3 part approach, time to try out.

Reinforcing my beliefs and feelings about bringing up my children.

It is about using simple methods. It helps child to know about consequences and boundaries.

I found the idea and simplicity of the program absolutely brilliant.

Contents are relatively simple to use at home. Makes sense.

Straightforward and easy to follow.

Very ‘real’ examples. I like the interactive style where people can ask questions.

Simple.

Learning some new tools to help with raising children.

Clear ways of managing unwanted behaviour and encouraging  wanted behaviour.

Simplicity of it. Easy to use. Opportunity for group discussion, share issues.

It took a humorous line. It is very real. Real life situations, with real answers.

Opening my eyes to a better strategy than loosing control.

Very informative. Very good presentation, seems very encouraging, seems not too complicated.

Question time, all various scenarios answered.

Short, clear, sessions. The fact that my son’s school is also using this program.

Handouts were great- follow up being available is also good.

It simplifies behaviour management. It actually provides a clear framework to implement. The course was great thanks.

Reinforce the need to set the rules at home. Taking away my emotion from the situation.

Very easy to follow, has stopped the yelling and the talk in the house.

Loved the course, and feel a longer session would have benefited my case.

Learning to be less emotional when dealing with the kids.

The simplicity of it.

Great ideas. Knowing you not the only one with the problem.

No violence (smacking) involved. Lots of time for asking questions etc… not boring at all.

It was extremely beneficial for my husband attending it at night.

Practical advice, other parent’s issues. Provision of email and phone help is fantastic!!

Very generous with morning tea etc. First course ever  I have seen this generosity. Thank you.

Simple strategies, opportunities to ask questions and to send emails to Brad.

Made me aware of children’s tactics and also for me to take emotion and talk out of disciplining.

Good presentation.

Brad’s personality/ casual and approachable; likeable approach, good for dads.

The theory is clear and simple; importantly it transfers to other carers very easily.

Practical, time for discussion was great. It was really valuable having time to trial it for the week and then to chat about it.

Easy to understand, relevant, participant friendly.

Knowing there were other parents in the same boat and being reassured the adult is not always at fault.

Easy strategies to follow.

Simple – easy to implement.

For me it helped me to realize that we are doing a good job. It has fine tuned our problem solving techniques.

Easily understood – especially the counting technique. Lots of opportunities to ask questions.

Very practical, like the use of examples and follow up references (books, DVD, email)

Teaching how to take emotion and talk out of discipline. Teaching not to treat kids as little adults.

Easy to understand and very supportive.

I found the course very interesting in relation to the raising of children, giving a positive.

Listening to other participants experience and hearing how behaviour can be more positively managed.

Positive – discussing what works, excellent opportunity to see how I am doing, chatting to others about ideas. Excellent program.

Great information, sharing ideas.

Made the book real.

Interaction with similar people. Concise.

Clear and easy to follow.

It can be adapted to different ages and situations.

Participants discussing individual problems as a group.

Simple technique, easy to learn and effective.

Learning to take the emotion out of it.

Fresh ideas. Opportunity to email/phone.

2 main points of not being too emotional and not talking too much when disciplining children.

Practical, positive.

The discussion times.

That it reiterated ‘less talk’ and ‘less emotion’

Everything.

Straight forward – well explained.

Easy to learn and apply.

It reiterated a lot of ‘own’ parenting techniques. Enjoyed explanation of start behaviours – most valuable.

The way it was presented. Brad did a great job informative and entertaining! Lots of examples.

Practical examples to follow. An approach that could be applied to whatever ages of kids.

I liked the less talk and less emotion. Great reminder, well done. Twinky example was great.

Very clear and concise information. Great handouts.

Very practical. Brad was great.

Reinforcing positives. Giving an alternative to smacking or shouting is wonderful for my family where one parent wants to smack and one shouts, wonderful to find an alternative.

Changing patterns

Same concerns as other parents. Lots of good information.

Discipline kids with less frustration.

Being able to ask questions and ring Brad with any further queries. Realizing my problems.

Simple and easy to implement

Everything, information. It works!! Great presenter, funny, related, confident and experienced!!

Learning to adjust my behaviour and reactions to my toddler. A lot less yelling and screaming per day. Son is enjoying some restrictions.

Excellent no nonsense strategies.

Lots of time spent listening to everyone’s problems and great advice. Very patient. Very hands on and practical. Thank you so much.

Practical info. How to do it….

Reinforcing the ideas from the book.

The no talking no emotion stops the yelling, frustration and escalation.

Combination or video and verbal instruction was good.

Finding out from other course participants that your own child isn’t the worst! Getting other ideas from general discussion.  Reinforcement from watching DVD.

Succinct/good timing.

Fun, extremely informative, easy to understand and implement. Great communication and opportunities for discussion.

Structure was good – theory one week, strategies for 1-2-3 the next week and follow up the week after.

Pace was good. DVD was good. Focus on STOP behaviours was appropriate.

Examples given. DVD to reinforce. Handouts.

DVD was interesting. Discussion – question and answer.

Hearing other parents. Makes us feel that we are not alone.

Simple easy to understand. Reinforcement that there is follow up support.

Quite simple to learn and to put into practice.

Relaxed atmosphere – good class size and location.

Teaching backed up with notes. Plenty of question time.

Listening to other experiences and Brad’s experiences.

I think it was great, now my kids won’t have to go to boarding school. Application of methods.

Information given – evidence that 1-2-3 Magic works.

Open to ask questions and relate to other peoples challenges. Good size class.

Very good at clarifying for me what it is about the kids behaviours I really don’t like and also allowing me perspective and less emotion.

Its practicality and simplicity. Examples of this behaviour and ways of managing clearly described. Clear goals and expectations easy to understand.

Personal experiences related by the presenter and other parents.

Very practical session. Lots of time for Question and Answer.

Not the only parent with similar problems, able to discuss issues with like minded people.

All good stuff. Well organized. Nice food, thanks for the cold water.

Simple, easy to understand.

Gives the good alternatives on how to handle behaviour.

Easy to understand and put into practice.

Giving me more info under my belt and give me the knowledge and strength to discipline in the correct manner.

Interaction with other parents. Knowing you are not the only one going through it.

Real life experiences discussed.

Alternatives to parenting styles. Both my partner and I are on the same page now. Simplicity of the theory and application.

Very good, now calmer.

Casual approach, opportunity to follow up if required, reference materials available.

Being able to ask our own personal questions – stories of our problems at home.

Real life examples. Addressing the audience’s real life problems.

Good time keeping and all queries and questions answered well.

Speaker good and practical and obviously experienced.

Brad’s manner and way of putting things. Very easy to listen to and make sense of (except for all the interruptions he received)

Gaining control over my emotions as a parent and then using this in a positive way to be a better parent.

Its simple format. Very reliant on the tutor ability to understand and communicate with parents.

Great presentation. Easy to understand. Great question time.

Informative, easy to understand.

Set out well- easy to follow notes. Brad’s knowledge and passion for program.

Gives me discipline options to think about. Like hearing what other parents are going through. Experience of Brad.

Clarity. Discussiveness/openness to questions at any point. Experiences of trainer.

Relatively, straight forward information.

Making me feel normal and that my child’s behaviour is quite normal (although needing a little guidance). Understanding children’s behaviours.

Simple- easy to understand. Brad was a great presenter. Revision days sound great!

Its simplicity, ability to ask lots of questions and hear other’s experiences.

Clear info and a lot of time to ask questions.

Easy to follow, good handouts, humour, problem solving ‘real parent’ issues on the floor. Knowing a phone call cane be made for one-on-one issues.

Printed overview. Video presentations. Questions/sharing experiences.

Delivery, open format, information written, DVD, books etc…

Being able to share each others real life examples of behaviour and having Brad provide on the spot advice.

The simplicity of the method – easy to remember. The available post-course support and follow up. Time to ask questions/discuss problems and scenarios.

Simple to understand, practical advice, also great to be given examples.

It offered me opinions to handle different situations/behaviour. I have found that I don’t shout or raise my voice as much as I used to.

Brad and using examples.

Open conversation. Easy to use information. Back up in workshop, as well as afterwards.

Simple and specific. The ability to email/phone Brad after course completed.

The philosophy of taking the emotion/heat and discussion out of the discipline technique is great. Like the 3 point approach – time to try out.

Reinforcing my beliefs and feelings about bringing up my children

It is about very simple method. It helps child to know about boundaries and consequences.

I found the idea and simplicity of the program absolutely brilliant.

Contents are relatively simple to use at home. Makes sense.

Straight forward and easy to follow.

Very ‘real’ examples. I like the interactive style where people can ask questions.

Health Professionals

Good day, simple program should be really easy to implement with minimal disruption or excess time and effort removed from the time spent delivering programs.

Sounds like an exciting alternative. Awesome.

Great! I teach years 7 and year 8 but these kids are relatively ‘young’ compared to my previous classes, so I think this will work well. Thank you.

Another teacher at my school had already done the course and thought it was great.

I just hope it works like Magic in my class. Well done. Thank you.

I had seen the DVD and had attempted to use the program with a very difficult child – a reasonable amount of success. This has given me the opportunity to rethink and ‘tighten up’ my process.

The course brought together a lot of different courses in behaviour management adding the ‘shut up’ and ‘count’ aspect.

Liked the point that I don’t have to placate children who are disruptive because they haven’t had good parenting so far.

Content and presentation very informative. Good idea to be able to have follow up PD.

Very interesting. Perhaps discussion how this might be implemented as a whole school system would be good.

Having seen the video I had tried 1-2-3 Magic in the classroom rather haphazardly. The PD made it much clearer and more workable for me and showed me how to prepare effectively for the implementation of the 1-2-3 Magic in my classroom.

Enjoyed the presentation.  Friendly and clear, thank you.

I was a reluctant attendee but found it interesting, thank you.

Wow! Keep up the great work- wish you could do this with training teachers.

Excellent day!

Looking forward to trialing 1-2-3 Magic in my class.

Excellent P.D. Thank you.

Now I will know that those children slipping under the radar are actually mis-behaviours. Thank you for an informative day. I know that this will work in my classroom. I will try it at home too (even though my kids are good kids 99%) for the 1%.

Presenter certainly had a good knowledge base to work from. Thank you.

Course was good and informative.

Need to develop a system for Under 5’s.

Thanks Brad, This system builds on our background knowledge and existing practices.

1-2-3 Magic – another trick to use!