Head start
Head start puts a lot of emphasis on parents’ involvement by requiring that all parents get involved in all aspects of programs. The requirement further specifies that these services be provided to parents to enhance their skills of parenting, knowledge, and understanding of the developmental and educational needs of young children. One way of improving school readiness for children is investing in early childhood education programs. Despite the growth in the number of children enrolled in early childhood programs, the benefits in the long term have become elusive due to the lack of home supported learning.
There is a need to create a strengthened parent-child relationship to lay a foundation early enough to grow children. Partnering with the community provides a tangible child development that children, teachers, and parents need. Parents are the first teachers in a child’s development, and head start gives the ideal setting in which parents’ role can be played to promote the success of children in early childhood (Ansari, & Gershoff, 2016). Programmed outreach of parents has more fruits, including training teachers on how to engage families in providing more practical tasks such as transporting, and care that may be a barrier to participation in the program. Parents can learn how to manage their children’s discipline without harsh or corporal punishments. Head start outlines positive discipline forms for parents to learn and use at home, which replace the punitive discipline forms. Corporal punishment has been found to harm children’s early behavior and academic performance. Head start can reduce this use of spanking, and it may be a crucial way to improve how children develop (Bierman et al., 2015).
There is a created relationship between staff and parents, and these deepened relationships extend to children. One can easily note aspects in children such as temperaments, vulnerabilities, special needs, and talents. That way, early head start creates authentic partnerships with stakeholders, translating to a passion for sharing and caring. Parents are ready to share their expertise and have a strong belief in partnering to ensure the quality of their children’s development is assured.
While it is likely that parents’ involvement in head start may have direct benefits to children, it is most likely going to indirectly impact their future academics. Once parents get involved in volunteering in classroom tasks, they can imitate the activities they have learned in their daily interactions with their children at home. There is proof of children whose parents get involved in home start increasing their stimulating cognitive activities (Cook, Coley, & Zimmermann, 2019). The other advantage that cannot be overlooked is the support that comes to support parents’ roles as they progress towards achieving other goals for themselves and their children as well. There is also a response to community voices on matters such as the community’s strengths and values as a result of the head start. These concerns further collaborate with families, community members, and other local agencies to commonly point out goals, pool together resources, and pass information for the growth and development of effective partnerships in bringing up children. In a nutshell, there is creating a goal-oriented relationship where these head start programs are done.
References
Ansari, A., & Gershoff, E. (2016). Parent involvement in head start and children’s development: Indirect effects through parenting. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(2), 562-579.
Bierman, K. L., Welsh, J. A., Heinrichs, B. S., Nix, R. L., & Mathis, E. T. (2015). Helping head start parents promote their children’s kindergarten adjustment: The research‐based developmentally informed parent program. Child Development, 86(6), 1877-1891.
Cook, K. D., Coley, R. L., & Zimmermann, K. (2019). Who benefits? Head start directors’ views of coordination with elementary schools to support the transition to kindergarten. Children and Youth Services Review, 100, 393-404.