The Infant-Toddler Success Parenting Project is a research-based initiative designed to increase the school readiness of young children by increasing parents’ ability to provide early enrichment experiences, improving the quality of caregiving (i.e., attachment security), and teaching parents positive child guidance skills. The program targets families with young children age 0-3 and offers an 8-session parenting class, follow-up classes, periodic assessments, and a parent helpline. Conceived as a public-private partnership, local hospitals, libraries, schools, faith-based organizations, and other institutions have been consulted and have agreed to collaborate.
8-Session Parenting Classes: The Infant-Toddler Success parenting classes are offered for free throughout the San Bernardino and Rialto school districts. Each class consists of eight 2-hr. sessions and may accommodate as many as 20 participants. The parenting curriculum is based on the most current research on brain development, child development, school readiness, attachment, early mental health, and positive child guidance which have as their centerpiece the critical importance of warm, attuned, responsive caregiving for the optimal development and well-being of children. The focus of the curriculum is to help parents create a language-rich, stimulating, and nurturing environment to promote healthy development and school readiness in their young children. Parents learn how “parent talk” and reading books aloud foster the development of the brain, language, and later reading skills, and why play contributes to learning concepts that are vital to later school success. They also learn effective positive child guidance skills which simultaneously promote brain development, language skills, and reasoning abilities in children. Class sessions include short video clips, in-class activities, and take-home activities. Parents and children receive a light meal and take home a children’s book at the end of every class session.
“Child enrichment groups” run concurrent with the parenting classes and provide high-quality, developmentally-appropriate children’s programming for parents attending the class. Staffed primarily by trained CSUSB student interns, children participate in planned activities that are consistent with their developmental level.
Follow-up classes: After completing the initial 8-session parenting class course, families have the option of participating in quarterly follow-up sessions and our advanced 6-session parenting class.
Follow-up assessments: Periodic assessments will occur at the follow-up sessions until the child starts kindergarten.
Parent helpline: Families who participate in our project have access to our Parenting Helpline where their questions about their child are answered by one of our parent educators.