Evidence-based Practice: Parent programs

Definition

Early childhood programs designed to teach parents how to better support their children’s early learning by providing stimulating interactions during daily routines and playtime at home are related to large improvements in children’s behavioral, health, and some dimensions of socio-emotional outcomes, as well as modest improvements in their cognitive abilities and overall outcomes in general.1 The parent programs reviewed by Sun Joo et al. were delivered in a variety of formats, including parent training, group meetings, family classes, and home visits, or parents were provided with at-home instructional materials to facilitate children’s early learning processes. However, each of them was a fully developed, curriculum-based program, and generally they had a specific target of intervention (such as children’s cognitive development or phonemic awareness). For example, the Research-based Developmentally Informed Parent (REDI-P) program provided additional home visits to parents of children in Head Start to help them use learning activities and games at home to enhance their children’s readiness for school. It led to significant improvements in language and literacy skills, and social-emotional development.2