Brief
Family instability refers to changes in parents’ residential and romantic partnerships, such as marriage, divorce, and romantic partners moving in or out of the home. Family instability influences children and adolescents’ functioning, as do household income and parents’ relationship status. Family stability can promote positive social behavior in children and adolescents, while instability is associated with social maladjustment, including behaviors such as aggression toward peers, teachers, or parents. This brief examines the links between family instability during childhood,…
Brief
Low-income families face significant challenges navigating both low-wage employment or education and training programs and also finding good-quality child care. Programs that intentionally combine services for parents and children can help families move toward economic security and create conditions that promote child and family well-being. Although these programs in general are not new (see Background), policymakers and program leaders are now experimenting with innovative approaches to combining services. Yet, most currently operating programs, sometimes called “two-generation” or “dual…
Strong, healthy families give their children the best chance at success in school and in life. The Family Goal-Setting Guide explores how strong partnerships can positively influence the goals families set in the Family Partnership Process. (Author abstract)
Other
This webinar guides early child care professionals in considering what fathers experience when they walk into an early childhood program. What do they see, hear, and feel? It also reviews relationship-based strategies and effective ways to engage fathers, and helps practitioners to find starting points in making improvements to program environments. (Author abstract modified)
Children benefit from caring, responsive, and stable relationships. A strong relationship with a parent promotes a child’s development, learning, and increased school success. Relationships with parents help children learn to develop connections with peers and other adults. Supportive relationships with parents also help children learn to manage emotions, cope, problem-solve, and resolve conflicts. Early childhood professionals can encourage strong and positive parent-child relationships through family engagement efforts that include valuing, respecting, and supporting families. (Author…
Other
The Parenting Curricula Review Databases explore parenting curricula options for families in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. There are separate databases for center-based and home-based curricula. Curricula are categorized by age of children, key topics, number/frequency of sessions, parenting domains addressed, languages available, cost, and other features. (Author abstract modified)
Adult caregivers such as parents, teachers, coaches, and other mentors play a critical role in shaping and supporting self-regulation development from birth through young adulthood through an interactive process called “co-regulation." This snapshot focuses on the self-regulation skills developing in infants and toddlers and highlights key considerations for promoting these skills. (Author abstract modified)
Adult caregivers such as parents, teachers, coaches, and other mentors play a critical role in shaping and supporting self-regulation development from birth through young adulthood through an interactive process called “co-regulation." This snapshot focuses on the self-regulation skills developing in preschool-aged children and highlights key considerations for promoting these skills. (Author abstract modified)
Brief
This brief from the Head Start Health Manager Descriptive Study explores family engagement through these research questions: In what ways do Head Start/Early Head Start programs support family engagement in health-related aspects of program services? What are the barriers to family engagement in health-related aspects of program services from the health manager perspective? To what extent do barriers to family engagement differ by program or health manager characteristics and the populations served? What are the implications regarding family engagement for Head Start/Early Head Start health…
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Training Materials Las Manos de Apá resources are designed to support Latino fathers as early literacy models for their children. The resources outline creating father-friendly environments, building community supports, sharing stories, and supporting early literacy for young children. Head Start and Early Head Start staff may find these practice models useful when working with Latino fathers. Many of the resources and activities are in English and Spanish. These four modules include thoughtful stories and activity examples to enable staff to feel comfortable building a father engagement program that extends…
