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Parenting Education and Child Development Knowledge – Parents who have a limited
or no understanding of child development can easily misinterpret normal
behavior and react to their children in negative or abusive ways. Parents with child development knowledge are
able to anticipate normal childhood milestones, set appropriate rules and
limits, encourage developmental growth by understanding and supporting their
children’s stages, and be
able to take the appropriate actions when their children may be experiencing
anything out of the ordinary (McMillin,
Bultas, Zander, Wilmott, Underwood, Broom & Zand, 2016).
Because all children are unique, parents need to be
flexible and adjust their parenting strategies to fit various circumstances and
their children’s temperament. This is
especially true for parents who have children with special needs. Children with
special needs are 1.68 times more likely to be abused or neglected in
comparison to children without a disability (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2012). One
parenting style does not fit all children.
Extension
programs can help build knowledge of parenting and child development in the
following ways:
·
Offer
informal, daily interactions between parents and program staff, plus coaching
from staff on specific developmental challenges when they arise (e.g.,
inconsolable crying, eating or sleeping problems, biting, sharing toys, lying,
problems with peers).
·
Educate
staff on parenting and child development so that they can play a more effective
role in coaching parents on these issues.
·
Provide
parent-child interaction training opportunities through classes or workshops
that address topics parents request or that respond to current issues.
·
Provide
observation opportunities such as video monitors or windows into classrooms and
outdoor space, where parents can watch their child interacting with other
children and learn new techniques by observing staff.
·
Give
parents opportunities to participate in conversations with other parents about
their own experiences as children and how they want to change their parenting.
·
Offer
a lending library of educational materials about parenting and child
development (U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, 2016b, p. 14).
Written by: Lisa Jo
Shields, PhD, LMHC
Family
Life and Child Development Specialist
*References Available upon Request
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