TITLE:
Overview of Intervention Programs for Parents of Young Children (0 - 6)
AUTHORS:
Merav Goldblatt, Rivka Yahav, Tsameret Ricon
KEYWORDS:
Interventions for Parents, Early Development, Young Children, Review
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.4 No.3,
August
28,
2014
ABSTRACT: In most of the world’s
societies and cultures, the biological mother and father bear primary
responsibility tocare for their child’s needs and to guide him or her
through the process of entry into society [1]. The parent serves, for the most part, as the significant figure
with the greatest amount of influence over the child’s life. Through his
parent, the child learns the skills necessary to experience the world and function in it, whether the skills are in relation to
survival needs such as eating, washing and mobility or developmental and social
needs such as forming social relationships and developing the capacity to think
and learn through play and supervision [2]. Thus the parent plays a critical but complex role in the
development of his or her child, a role that requires development of a wide
range of new behavioral, communicational, cognitive and emotional skills and
capabilities in order to understand and cope with the challenges of
child-rearing. Similarly, parenting styles and characteristics are influenced
by a number of variables: The parent, the child, the interaction between them,
and environmental variables such as culture, socio-economic status, and the
existing family unit [2]. When children who suffer from behavioral difficulties do not
receive the parental care they need, there is reasonable cause for concern that
difficulties will develop in adulthood in a range of life areas that will have
an impact on their lives and well-being and on their ability to adapt to
society and contribute to it [3]. Accordingly, over the past 50 years parent-training programs
have been developed to strengthen parents through learning and providing tools
of experience and developmental knowledge, for the purpose of promoting the
child’s sense of wellbeing and quality of life [2] [4]. Objective: The purpose of this
review is to provide an overview of evidence-based interventions for parents of
young children (0 - 6), programs that are currently active in Israel and in the
world, and to explicate the significant characteristics common to them that
contribute to their effectiveness and success.