Parent Education Programs in Early Childhood Development

Conscientious parents nurture, encourage, teach and model behavior in a positive way, but poor parenting also affects child development. Education programs focused on early childhood help parents learn the positive elements of raising children and helps avoid things that hurt the mental, emotional, social and physical development of young family members. Anne Samuelson, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology, labels parent education programs instrumental in helping the well-being of both parents and children. The World Bank finds that these education programs also help the community.

  1. Early Childhood Development

    • Child development includes self-regulation, the ability to develop relationships and acquire knowledge, and the acquisition and development of specific skills. Adults aren't born with the knowledge of effective parenting practices and techniques, but education programs help supply the information and the knowledge to improve sound family practices that lead to physical health, success at school and a general sense of well-being, according to the Task Force on Community Preventive Services.

    Effective Education Programs

    • Effective parent education programs have several key components. Successful programs, according to the University of Wisconsin Extension, have professional and trained staff, maintain a clear focus and offer consistent presentation of basic parenting skills. The programs emphasize building family strengths, such as understanding the roles of affection, communication and monitoring. The extension service also found both home- and group-based education delivery programs have success in training parents. Home-based programs bring instruction to the family in the home, and group programs ask parents to join other parents for instruction. The service also notes that education programs combining both approaches have the greatest success rates.

    Program Types

    • Childhood education programs generally focus on two types of groups. The first offers instruction for general groups of parents, and the second targets specific parent groups for specialized training. Classes offered as part of homemaker extension programs, hospital parenting projects, and secondary and community college child development classes all offer parents and family members important information in early childhood development. Some local and county governments create classes to train parents as part of judicial court-mandated parent training. Federal, state, county and local governments frequently offer various types of early childhood development programs, including classes funded through Head Start and Early Head Start -- both federal programs focused on family building, childhood heath and education. State and county family services also have parent programs as part of Families First, Healthy Families and the Parent Connection, projects supported with money from federal, state and county governments.

    Impact

    • The University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Extension recognize the link between healthy child development and quality parent education. A review of early childhood development programs by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services found that child development determines quality of health over a lifetime. Early intervention and formal education to address specific family problems have the greatest chances for success, according to the Wisconsin Extension researchers.

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