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Chapter Eight
SUPPORTING PARENTS AS PRIME EDUCATORS OF THEIR CHILDREN 

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"I feel more secure within myself. I feel I am a better parent."
...a Head Start parent.

Parental involvement in the education of children extends beyond participation in class-oriented activities to the reinforcement of developmental gains in the home. Interactions between parent and child in the home are important to the child's growth and development. Most parents are eager to participate in the classroom activities and experiences of their children's world and to reinforce these experiences at home. However, many parents are uncertain about the kinds of at-home activities which will support educational growth and development and are doubtful of their ability to function in the role of educator. Supportive activities should include both home and center-based experiences. Program objectives and parent, expectations should be clarified in an informal manner before the program begins, so that both parents and staff know what they want to achieve and can then work together toward, that end.

THE PARENT'S ROLE IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Parent involvement is not just participation in the activities, events, and programs which make up a child's world. Involvement includes understanding a child well enough to know what certain moods mean, how the child deals with difficult situations, what soothes, what agitates. Involvement includes valuing the child enough as an individual to work at building a mutually satisfying relationship. Real involvement requires a total commitment.

Parents are the most important people in a child's life. Parents have been involved in their children's education for years. They have provided the cultural foundation and value system around which the child's socialization process centers. It is ironic that there should be any doubt about the ability of parents to workwith their own children at home. What parents frequently need is assistance in: identifying the objectives which they want to attain with their children; determining the needs which they perceive for themselves and their children; appraising the wealth of skill and talent which they possess and use every day when interacting with their children; and recognizing their responsibilities as prime educators of their children. Volumes of research have demonstrated that home circumstances consistently influence a child's behavior. The positive or negative effects of such influence depend, in part, on the frequency of child-parent interactions which take place in the home; as well as the focus of those interactions. While many of the effects of variables in the home environment are not readily apparent in terms of child development outcomes, there is some evidence that structured and direct efforts of parents to enhance the development of their children can produce positive results. Parent involvement at home can focus on the following objectives:

• An increased awareness by parents of their child's behavior and their own influence on the child.
• A more systematic focus on parent-child interaction and intellectual activities at home.
• An increased level of verbal interaction between parents and children.
• An increase in parent responsiveness to children.

SUPPORTING PARENTS AT HOME

From its beginnings, Head Start has been aware of the need to consider complete entities when planning for early childhood education - the whole child, the whole program, the whole family, the whole community - and the interdependence of these entities on one another. Therefore, the Head Start concept of parent involvement at home also encompasses more than simple parent-child relationships. It includes the entire network of relationships, expectations, behaviors and values which create the home environment.

The coordinator's efforts to support parents as they work with their children at home can have far-reaching implications, and should be planned with care and concern.

Helping Parents Achieve Their Objectives
The coordinator can assist parents in achieving their own at-home objectives in four basic ways:

• Identify what they want for their children and think about the kinds of activities which will achieve these objectives.
• Determine their own needs and those of their children in relation to engaging in developmental activities at home.
• Become more aware of the parenting skills which they already possess and use and improve their skills in those areas of parenting where they feel less capable.
• Recognize that, as the primary educators of their children, they have a definite responsibility to function in that role and cannot shift the entire obligation to the school.

Parents and staff have much to learn from one another and should work toward establishing a mutually supportive relationship built on trust and respect. Once such a relationship is established, the coordinator, can initiate activities which will support parents as they work with their children at home.

Making Home Visits
Home visits are one way to involve and reinforce parents in their role as prime educators of their children. Staff are required to make home visits at least three times a year with parents' consent, of course. In the home setting, staff can gain insight into the child's environment and 'can enlist the parents' cooperation in the child's educational process. Slowly and spontaneously, alternatives to and expansions of present behaviors can be suggested, explained, modeled, and supported.

The parent involvement coordinator who has, taken the time to plan each home visit she makes - what the visit is to accomplish, what materials will be needed, what the parent Would like to talk about, and what amount of time is to be spent at the home - will be demonstrating that the parents' time and priorities are indeed respected.

Following are some guidelines for planning and making home visits.

Planning the Visit
• Arrange a mutually convenient time for the visit with the parents.
• Suggest dates, when you will be in the neighborhood if a parent is undecided as to the date.
• Try to plan the visit with the parent around mutual interests. Otherwise, parents may feel that the home visit is an invasion of their privacy or is associated with a negative situation at the center.
• If parents are unavailable at the time you make the visit, leave a note saying you will arrange with them to come another time.
• Review the child's record. Give parents specific examples of the strengths and areas in which he needs additional experiences.

Making the Visit
• Speak 'naturally and be yourself.
• Direct your attention to the parent.
• Stress that the parent is the important person.
• Don't be afraid to admit when you have made a mistake or don't have information.
• Discuss the purpose and the procedure of the planned activity.
• Keep your explanations short; explain in steps and demonstrate as you go along.
• After you have explained or demonstrated a skill or activity, let the parent take over.
• When parent and child are interacting, or parent is trying to get the child's attention, don't interrupt.
• Let the parent attend to the child's' needs, unless you are asked to do so.
• Use praise and encouragement cautiously, not mechanically or in ways that will interrupt the flow of parent-child interaction.
• If you have been working on a specific parenting skill or behavior and the parent uses it, let the parent know you observed it and how it worked.
• Do not phrase a question in such a way that the parent will answer or unless you are willing to accept that.
• Use parent-child activities to discuss desirable parenting behaviors.

SUPPORTING PARENTS THROUGH CENTER ACTIVITIES

Activities and resources designed for parents in the Head Start center can serve to support parents as prime educators of their children. The creation of a parent lounge in the center symbolizes the program's commitment to parents and provides a physical setting for parent activities. A newsletter, which might already be part of an on-going communications system, can be used to support and promote parenting skills. In addition, workshops designed to help parents work with their children at home can be incorporated into the parent education plan.

Creating a Parent Lounge
The establishment of a parent lounge requires a degree of planning for the parent involvement coordinator. However, once the project is started and publicized, contributions of time and materials will come from several sources.

To start, the parent involvement coordinator will need to acquire space in the Head Start center. Once the space is available, fliers can be sent home and to businesses in the community encouraging the donation of furniture, toys, books, magazines, machines and other items which will contribute to the appearance, comfort and convenience of the lounge.

Following are some ideas for enhancing the parent lounge:

• Machines such as sewing machines, typewriters, washer/dryer combinations, adding and copying machines would be welcomed by parents. These items are tax deductible and may be donated by the community.
• An information board containing current information about activities, events, and programs of interest to parents and services available to families in the center and the community.
• A suggestion box for parent input to center programs and activities.
• A lending library for books, magazines, games and toys.
• A swap barrel for articles of clothing; shoes and boots.
• A resource file containing lists of parents' and staff's special skills, talents and experiences. Parents and staff can tap each other as resource persons for classroom and parent involvement activities.
• Furniture such as sofa, chairs, tables, cribs, or a playpen.

Using the Newsletter for Parents
A newsletter written, produced and distributed by parents, for parents, can be used to further reinforce the concept that parents are important as people. In addition to information which is sent home concerning center activities focused on the Head Start classroom and the child, the newsletter can contain information on events and activities of special interest to parents.

A schedule of the parent involvement program activities for the coming month included in the newsletter would allow parents to plan ahead for attendance at meetings and workshops in which they are interested.

The newsletter can also contain a section on at-home activities, including suggestions for art projects, simple cooking recipes, skill-building games, family outings and other whole-family activities.

In addition, an editorial section of the newsletter can be used to share experiences parents have had with their children at home.

Conducting Workshops in Parenting Skills
Workshops, carefully planned and designed around expressed parent interests, represent an excellent vehicle for assisting parents to enhance both their parenting and teaching skills. In order to interact most effectively with their children at home, parents need to examine the skills which they already possess, determine areas where improvement is needed and identify additional skills which they would like to acquire.

An initial workshop could be designed to assist parents in assessing their skills and setting goals. A simple form with a few basic questions. could be completed by each parent and then discussed as a group. The form might be similar to the one which follows. Working together, the parent coordinator and parent group could then develop a 'master list of areas of interest in improvement and acquiring new knowledge. From this master list the parent coordinator could develop a list of workshop topics and a tentative schedule for the year.

By developing the schedule of workshops in this way, the parent coordinator can feel secure in the knowledge that the Workshops to be offered will be of interest to the parents and will assist them in fulfilling their roles as prime educators of their children. Head Start staff, community members and, parents can all serve as resources for planning and conducting the workshops.

Many programs are now using Exploring Parenting, a parent education program specifically designed for Head Start. It provides structured situations in which parents can discuss common concerns and share experiences and ideas. After appropriate training, parents and staff find it easy to lead the parent groups using the materials. Both materials and training may be requested from the Head Start Regional Offices.

PARENTING ASSESSMENT FORM

A. What things do you do best as a parent?

B. In what areas do you feel you need to improve?

C. What new skills and/or knowledge do you think would help you to be a better parent and to work more effectively with your children at home?

 

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