Study gives thumbs up to parenting programme

Parenting programmes aim to intervene early to improve child-rearing in vulnerable groups and to get children off to a better start in life. There are a number of different programmes available and researchers from New York University have been studying the effectiveness of one they themselves developed called ParentCorps. The programme is aimed at toddlers and includes a series of 13 group sessions which aim to teach parents ways to establish routines and rules for the family, reinforce positive behaviour and provide effective consequences for misbehaviour. The researchers studied 171 children comparing those in schools which took part in the ParentCorps programme to those which carried on as usual. In schools that too part in the programme parents had improved knowledge of parenting strategies, reported more effective discipline and were more responsive to their children. The children were also rated by their teachers as being better behaved in the classroom and as showing more social and emotional competence.