Study shows that parents can play important role in helping children succeed in spite of the stressful circumstances
Wednesday, 28. March 2012
Based on the promising results of this study, Brotman and his team are conducting a second study examines long-term benefits of classroom behavior and academic achievement in over 1000 children. All families deserve access to resources and services to help their children succeed, said Brotman.Laura Miller Brotman and her colleagues spent several years developing a program ParentCorps for families of children during their transition to school. ParentCorps includes a series of 13 group sessions for parents and children at the school during the hours of prime time, led by school staff and professionals. The program is unique in reaching parents through public schools in disadvantaged communities to help them learn a variety of parenting strategies. For example, parents can learn ways to establish procedures and rules for the family, reinforce positive behaviors and provide effective consequences for misbehavior. ParentCorps help every parent to choose from a wide range of scientifically proven strategies that work for them based on their family goals, values and culture. Bringing families and early childhood educators and to support and learn from each other, the program helps young children succeed ParentCorps.
Despite the many demands and stressors, parents took the time to come in series of 13 sessions with the family to share and learn from other parents. We saw a lot of enthusiasm and commitment to a program that helps children succeed in school, and this was true for parents and teachers of all different backgrounds, said Esther Calzada, a co-author of the study.
In schools that have offered ParentCorps, parents had a better understanding of strategies based on parenting, reported using more effective strategies and discipline in the home were found to be more sensitive to their children during play interactions. More importantly, by the end of kindergarten, compared to control schools, children in schools with ParentCorps were assessed by their teachers to be better behaved in class and show more social and emotional skills, basic skills for learning.
Researchers at the Child Study Center at New York University has shown that a short program for the families of students attending schools in disadvantaged urban communities improved maternal behavior of children in school.
The study, entitled Promoting effective parenting practices and preventing child behavior problems at school among ethnically diverse families from poor, urban communities, was published in February 2011 Number of Child Development.