Educational intervention for preschool children in a pediatric clinic

Abstract

A parent education program aimed at promoting cognitive development in 2- and 3-year-olds was instituted in both a pediatric clinic of a general hospital and a child health station in the community. Parent participants were asked to work at home daily with their children using age-graded play materials supplied by the program. They were tutored individually, in the clinic playroom, by bilingual playroom assistants using role-playing techniques. One hundred fifty children completed the program out of a total of 468. Subjects were tested before and after training on the Cattell: Stanford-Binet and showed a positive gain in performance. Parents reported that their program experiences made them aware of their ability to teach their children. This was reflected in their changing view of the children's activities which were previously seen as aimless and "bad" and were now viewed as constructive and amenable to modification by the parents.