The
mission of this program is to provide information and support
for parents, caregivers, and teachers of young children
within existing normative institutions which serve young
families, specifically early care and education programs
and health clinics. We provide a multidimensional child
development consultation program designed to promote an
understanding of young children that fosters healthy emotional,
social, and cognitive development -- and thus school readiness
-- in children.
School
readiness is directly related to children's cognitive, social,
and emotional development, and is not simply a function
of content-based competencies (i.e., knowing ABCs, counting,
etc). Rather, school readiness and the precursors to readiness
are predicated on a strong, positive relationship with parents
who understand the developmental needs (emotional, social,
and cognitive) of their child. A strong parent-child relationship
provides the underpinning for the child's development of
healthy, positive relationships with teachers and peers,
and promotes a sense of self-efficacy and competence. Thus,
good relationships with parents, teachers, and peers are
the fundamental aspects of early school adjustment.
Parenting
plays a key role in children's adaptive, social, emotional,
and cognitive development. Research has demonstrated that
infants placed in nurturing, developmentally sensitive homes
fare better than infants growing up in depriving or abusive
environments. Similarly, it is clear that children with
parents who facilitate language development and who play
with them have better outcomes than those who do not. Current
understanding of early brain development underscores the
importance of both early relationships with parents, and
other environmental factors that contribute to children's
neural maturation and function. In terms of school readiness,
these variables play an important role in developing school
performance and social functioning.
THEORY
The
intervention is based on a relational, developmental model.
A basic premise of this model is that positive and secure
relationships with primary caregivers are essential to a
child's later social and emotional development. This feeling
of security is created through the child's sense that she
can be understood and known. Thus, helping parents to focus
on their child's experience in relatively simple, developmentally
informed ways will have a positive effect on many aspects
of the child and family's future development.
The intervention is designed to provide a two-pronged approach
to facilitating parenting, thereby enhancing children's
social, emotional and cognitive functioning.
Emotional/Relational
Process. One aspect of the intervention is to
facilitate parent's recognition of and responsiveness
to their child's emotional development. Children's emotional
processes and capacities change dramatically over the
course of development (i.e. an 8-month old is emotionally
quite different from an 18-month old). Accurate understanding
of and responsiveness to a child's emotional life is centrally
important to development not only of later emotional capacities,
but also cognitive functioning and social skills. One
of the most important roles a parent plays is that of
"interpreter" of their child's frequently ambiguous
and complicated emotional states. Accurate understanding
and responsiveness to a child's emotional life is centrally
important to development not only of later emotional capacities,
but also cognitive function and social skill.
Developmental
Model. Another aspect of the intervention is
to help parents to acquire and use a realistic and accurate
model of development. Through the acquisition and use
of the model, parents will increase their understanding
of development and child behavior. In addition, parents
will be helped to find ways to maximize their child's
cognitive, social, and emotional functioning in multiple
contexts.
Together,
an appreciation of the child's developmental capacity,
as well as of his internal experience, will allow parents
to better understand their child's developing personality
and interests, and to respond to their children in rich
and productive ways.
ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING INTERVENTIONS
1)
Social-emotional functioning is a key and critical component
of children's readiness for school, one that has not been
addressed adequately in previous interventions focused
on school readiness. Through focusing on their developing
child, even before the child is born, parents can learn
to foster children's cognitive, social, and emotional
development.
2)
Children's relationships with their parents and other
caregivers provide the first and most important influences
on children's social and emotional school readiness. Parental
sensitivity and the capacity for understanding and interpreting
children's social and emotional intent are the cornerstones
of nurturing children's social and emotional development.
3)
Participation in Parents First must not be stigmatizing.
The program serves all parents who wish to deepen their
understanding of their child and their relationship, regardless
of income. All parents, regardless of income or background,
can benefit from support in their roles as teachers, nurturers,
and caregivers. All children can benefit from the program.
ELEMENTS OF INTERVENTION
Programming
is multidimensional and is provided through a number of
service provision routes. The first route involves strategies
that are "direct" in the sense that they provide
support, information and guidance through direct contact
with parents. Elements include:
Parenting
Workshop Meetings. These meetings are the centerpiece
of our direct service programming. Groups provide a forum
for parents to develop a vision for their family life,
discuss their concerns about parenting and their relationship
with their child, better understand their children's needs
and behavior, and work on creating changes in their family
where they feel it is needed. Groups provide a forum for
psychoeducation by the Parent Educator, as well as a platform
for parents to discuss concerns and talk about their relationship
with their children. Above and beyond discussion and problem-solving,
however, we work to develop parents' capacity to reflect
upon the nature of their child's emotional life, through
help focusing parents' observations and understanding
of their child's development and personality. Groups provide
parents with an invitation to reflect on their child's
needs and emotions, on themselves as parents, and on family
life. Parent meetings also foster social support, problem
solving, and the development of parental sensitivity and
responsiveness to their child's emotional process.
Individual
consultation with Parent Consultant. The Parent
Consultant is available to discuss specific problems with
parents on an individual basis.
Parent
consultant/direct service provider coordination and facilitation.
Through consultation with the Parent Consultant, early
childhood educators, childbirth educators, and other direct
service providers can be supported in providing direct
teaching and modeling about ways of understanding and
responding to individuals and families.
The
second modality of the intervention involves "indirect"
contact with parents that provides information through web
based and print media, as well as increasing opportunities
for parents to become more involved in creating a supportive
family environment in their community.
Website.
The website provides an community service both to families
and to the child care centers. The website is, in essence,
a virtual parenting resource center that provides information
and activities for parents and educators aimed at helping
them to meet children's basic needs, increase their understanding
of child development, and enhancing their relationships.
The website also serves as a conduit of information to
child care providers in New Haven, for example, providing
information about continuing education opportunities and
networking.
UNIQUE CONTRIBUTIONS
The program makes several unique contributions to the field
of family education and support.
The
focus of the program is on promoting the quality of the
relationship of parents and children through developmentally
appropriate pathways, rather than promoting mechanistic
parenting skills or techniques. This focus represents a
departure from mainstream, less informed developmental perspectives.
There are currently no multidimensional, relationally based
parenting programs available in the region. The program
meets a need for a developmentally informed, process oriented
program for parents of young children.
Beginning
parenting education prenatally, through pairing with existing
childbirth or prenatal class, is an innovation. By offering
our program as an adjunct to existing health and early care
and education services for families, we can continue our
contact with parents as their children move from one community
institution to another over the course of early childhood-from
childbirth class to child care to preschool.
Virtual
parenting education and support linking families with local
services is a new way of conceptualizing support services.
While there are other websites for parents, they do not
provide ways of linking families to activities, institutions,
and services in their own community. A website of this type
also offers opportunities for partnering with the business
community and provides a means of outreach to all families
in the greater New Haven area.
Yale School of Medicine