Active Parenting Publishers...innovators of
video-based education programs

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Over 35 years of helping families find their way...

Active Parenting Publishers, Inc., was founded in 1983 by Dr. Michael H. Popkin, a former child and family therapist and Coordinator of Child and Family Services for Northside Community Mental Health Centers in Atlanta, Georgia.

APP delivers quality education programs for parents, children and teachers to schools, hospitals, social services organizations, churches and the corporate market. The Active Parenting model is heavily based upon the theories of Alfred Adler and Rudolf Dreikurs.

The most popular program is Active Parenting 4th Edition, for parents of children ages five to twelve. Active Parenting Publishers is recognized as an innovator in the educational market and is committed to our mission of developing human potential through our programs.

APP operates out of Marietta, Georgia, a town just northwest of Atlanta. Our products are distributed throughout the US as well as in Canada, China, Japan, Korea, Kuwait and Sweden.

 

Pioneers of the world's first video-based parenting education program

The first three years of the company were devoted to research and development, as Dr. Popkin’s vision of integrating video and group discussion into advanced education programs evolved.

In June 1983, Active Parenting incorporated and introduced the Active Parenting Discussion Program (APDP), the world’s first video-based parenting education program. Delivered in just six 2-hour sessions, the program was a huge success. As a result, the company was ranked in the 242 spot on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies for the five-year period ending in 1989.

 

Why our video-based programs get results


A successful education program depends as much on how it is taught as on what is taught. The goal in founding Active Parenting Publishers in 1983 was to apply state-of-the-art educational technology to the field of parenting education. Three years of research and development led Active Parenting founder Michael Popkin to conclude that video-based training was the most cost-efffective innovation available, and we were the first to produce video-based parent education programs. Today this powerful delivery system continues to be ideal. In fact, most Fortune 500 companies have adopted video-based training as their standard. Here’s why:

 

  • Video shows as well as tells, and behavioral modeling is a powerful learning method.

  • According to one study on learning attributed to Xerox, people retain:

    • 10% of what they read

    • 20% of what they hear

    •  50% of what they see

  • When integrated into a multi-sensory approach (using the Participant’s Guide, activities, video, discussion, practice and feedback), retention has been as high as 80-90%.

  • Because it is more interesting, stimulating and entertaining, participation is higher

  • A complete video-based package saves the leader preparation time that can be used in other activities

  • During group sessions the video is like a co-leader, giving the leader a chance to relax and plan while the course is still progressing

  • Our society grew up on TV. We identify with the medium. We like it.