t he i mportance of f ather i nvolvement in e arly c hildhood p rograms and e arly i ntervention s...
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THE IMPORTANCE OF FATHER INVOLVEMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES
Katherine Ancell, M.Ed
Jonathan Chitiyo, M.Ed
Southern Illinois University
Discuss the importance of father involvement Provide examples of programs that involve
fathers and offer strategies to promote father involvement
Recommendations that focus on infants and toddlers with disabilities
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
Family involvement is defined as parents’ investment in the education of their children
Ways in which parents can demonstrate this investment: volunteering at school, helping children with homework, attending school functions visiting the student in the classroom taking leadership roles at school
BENEFITS OF FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
Improved school readiness and social development
Improved social connections, emotional security, higher IQ scores
Students enroll in higher-level programs Students attend school regularly Improved social skills
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT AND CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
IDEA mandates that families should play an integral part in all decisions and participate in services and supports
Students have better chances of meeting their IEP goals
FATHER INVOLVEMENT
BENEFITS OF FATHER INVOLVEMENT
Higher IQ scores for children
Advanced linguistic and cognitive capacity
Improved quantitative and verbal skills Fathers have unique ways of speaking to and playing
with children. They use more direct, challenging speech that involves directions, requests, and open-ended questions
BENEFITS OF FATHER INVOLVEMENT TO THE FATHERS
Involved men are more confident and effective as parents
Feel more important to their child Feel more involved and encouraged Exhibit high levels of psychosocial maturity More likely to participate in community and
leadership roles
FATHER INVOLVEMENT IN EI & ECSE
Despite these benefits, mothers are still the primary participants in EI and ECSE programs
Barriers to father involvement Employment Educators working exclusively with mothers Lack of knowledge about the system Fathers feeling unwelcome to programs Environments which are not father friendly
Single-father and two-father households are on the rise
FATHERS-IN-TRAINING
20 weekly training sessions
Focus on finances, responsible fathering, working with support systems
NATIONAL CENTER FOR FATHERING
Training, programs, education, information and services
Father Daughter Summit
Watch-Dogs
STEPS TOWARD EFFECTIVE, ENJOYABLE PARENTING
Secure attachment between parent and child Targets fathers’ knowledge, skills and
commitment to fatherhood role Sought to increase father support given to
mothers
DADS MATTER PILOT STUDY
Dads Matter enhancement to typical EI services Home visitors are taught to assess father’s role,
engage fathers in services, and building effective co-parenting team
Taught fathers about different social skills and language skills children learn from fathers
HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START
HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START
Building Blocks handbooks: Importance of father involvement Explore barriers and how to overcome Father involvement plan Suggestions for keeping activities appealing
HEAD START AND EARLY HEAD START
Specifically assigning resources for father involvement strategies
Staff training on father involvement
Help to make and measure “father friendliness” of programs
FATHER INVOLVEMENT STRATEGIES
Developing Father Friendly Activities Providing Incentives for Father Participation Logistics of Father Involvement Feedback from Participating Fathers Hiring Male Providers Father involvement in training and PD
DEVELOPING FATHER FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES
Acknowledge fathers as skilled and knowledgeable caregivers
Partner with park district/rec agency for a basketball game
Use EI family liason Theme night in collaboration with a community
partner Sports Nights Family Game Night Art Night
PROVIDING INCENTIVES FOR FATHER PARTICIPATION
Drawings or raffles to promote participation at events
Discounts on monthly tuition or fees in exchange for participation
Incentives from local restaurants Child responses can be incentives as well Providing materials to promote continued
interaction
LOGISTICS OF FATHER INVOLVEMENT
Evening and weekend activities Using technology to reach fathers
Short videos or pictures of activities done in therapy sessions
Email parent letters and information rather than give at pick-up
Location of activities may need to be adapted particularly for non-resident fathers PT session at a park or community setting
FEEDBACK FROM PARTICIPATING FATHERS
Rely on participating fathers for recruitment and feedback
Assign someone in the agency the task of father involvement and recruitment
Father Assessment Tools DFAA
HIRING MALE PROVIDERS & PD EFFORTS
University programs should target male students
Staff training on father involvement strategies
Knowledge of the importance of father involvement
FATHER INVOLVEMENT ACTIVITIES
Sports Activities (including Father-Child Adapted Basketball Game, make your own bowling with plastic cups and lightweight ball, and gross motor activities like obstacle courses, kicking/throwing foam balls, or using exercise balls for games)
Family Games (including developmentally appropriate turn-taking games and make your own activity folders)
Literary Activities (including monthly highlighted authors or genres and library events)
Build With Me (including milk-carton airplanes, and Lego cities) Nature Activities (including nature walks, leaf rubbings and growing vegetables) Cooking Activities (including ideas for Weekend Breakfasts and healthy snacks) Art and Sensory Activities (including materials for sensory play and art projects
such as Daddy and me self-portraits) Music Activities (including make your own instruments and lending CDs) Daily Activity Skills (including dress-up activities so children can practice
putting on coats and shoes)
STRATEGIES TO INCREASE FATHER INVOLVEMENT
Strategies for Practitioners/Program Administrators Develop “father friendly” activities Provide incentives for participation Assist with logistics as needed (e.g., flexible scheduling, transportation) Request ongoing feedback from participating fathers on ways to enhance and
nurture involvement Include fathers as parent volunteers Inviting fathers to read to children in the classroom Use available technologies (email, text message, social media) to
communicate regularly with fathers Use short videos and pictures to provide examples of strategies, therapies,
and successes Strategies for Higher Education Personnel Increase efforts to recruit males to pursue study and employment in ECE and
EI Increase focus on father involvement in preservice and inservice training and
professional development
FATHER INVOLVEMENT PROGRAMS Fathers-in-Training Birth to 18 years Education on health, parenting, financial responsibility; Aims to increase father
engagement http://www.vbgov.com/government/departments/human-services/for-residents/Pages?Fat
hers-In-Training-FIT.aspx National Center for Fathering Birth to 18 years Support fathers through research, training, resources
and programs including Father-Daughter Summit and Fathering Court www.fathers.com National Fatherhood Initiative Birth to 18 years Disseminate information on the importance of paternal involvement and provide
resources and literature www.fatherhood.org US Department of Health and Human Services Birth to five years Provides information on the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project which
focuses on the role low-income fathers play in the lives of their children http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/Parenting/hs.shtml
SELECT REFERENCES Guterman, N. B. (2012). Promoting father involvement in home visiting
services for vulnerable families: A pilot study. Final Report to the Pew Center on the States, University of Chicago. Retrieved on 2 October 2013 from
Raikes, H. (2004, June). Father Involvement in Early Head Start: The
practitioners study. Head Start Bulletin. www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/hsb
Raikes, H. H., & Bellotti, J. (2006). Two studies of father involvement in Early Head Start programs: A national survey and a demonstration program evaluation. Parenting:Science and Practice, 6(2-3), 229-242. doi: 10.1080/15295192.2006.9681307
Raikes, H. H., Summers, J. A., & Roggman, L. A. (2005). Father involvement in Early Head Start programs. Fathering, 3(1), 29-58.
White, J. M., Brotherson, S. E., Galovan, A. M., Holmes, E. K., & Kampmann, J. A. (2011). The Dakota Father Friendly Assessment: Measuring father friendliness in Head Start and similar settings. Fathering, 9(1), 22-43.