History and Mission of PDEL

History

The seeds of Positive Discipline in Everyday Life (PDEL) were planted in 2006. At that time, Dr. Joan Durrant was a developmental psychologist and professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada. On a trip to Asia, she unexpectedly met Dominique Pierre Plateau, who was the Regional Child Protection Advisor for Save the Children in Southeast Asia. He was located in Bangkok, Thailand.

Dominique explained that many of his colleagues had a hard time explaining what “positive discipline” means. He asked Joan if she would write an explanation that would help them in their work. She agreed and began to write. But she quickly realized that this concept cannot be explained in a pamphlet or tip sheet. To truly understand positive discipline, we need to understand children and see the world through their eyes.

Gradually, the brief explanation turned into a book that was published by Save the Children and posted on their website. As people read the book, they wanted to know more. Suddenly, Joan and Dominique were travelling throughout Asia giving workshops on the approach Joan had created, now known as “Positive Discipline in Everyday Parenting” (PDEP).

Over time, Joan created a program for parents and a training for facilitators. She also built a team of highly knowledgeable and experienced trainers and a team of program evaluators. Together, they continued to develop and strengthen the parent program and facilitator training. They travelled the world, responding to requests for training in this innovative approach.

In 2017, Joan and the team created a not-for-profit organization to coordinate and oversee training across Canada and internationally. They called this organization Positive Discipline in Everyday Life (PDEL).

Since then, PDEL has flourished, building partnerships and making PDEP accessible to thousands of parents in Canada and elsewhere. We have adapted PDEP for many different cultures and contexts, from Mongolia to Indonesia to the United Arab Emirates. Most recently, we have adapted PDEP for new and expectant parents.

Today, PDEL is a registered Canadian charity (#705841492 RR 0001), headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.