Parents as Teachers:
Interacting With Your Child Through Play

Approximately 18 months ago, the Supporting First Time Parents (SFTP) program added a new component, Parents As Teachers (PAT). While PAT is conducted nation-wide, Rosalie Manor is the only agency in Milwaukee to implement the program.

PAT is a birth to three program that is based on the belief that parents are their child's first and most important teachers. Our goal is to help parents give their children the best possible start in life. We achieve this goal through home visits and group sessions with trained PAT educators. The home visitor uses an age-paced curriculum with topics such as Understanding Baby's Cues, Discipline, The Value of Play and Encouraging Interest in Books.

The program is beneficial to both parents and children. After participating in PAT, parents are more likely to understand child development and they have an increased confidence in their child rearing ability. Children who participate in PAT also have an advantage. Skills such as cognitive, language and social development are higher when compared to the comparison group or the norm. In addition, handicapping conditions such as hearing and vision problems in children are more likely to be detected. These attitudes and increased skills are achieved when parents interact with their children through play.

Play is the most important form of parent/child interaction. As Trudy, a PAT educator explains, "Many parents do not realize how important it is to talk to and play with infants." Children learn a language by observing reactions and responses that are prompted by their actions and behaviors and listening to a language spoken around them.

Home visits and group sessions are PAT's two components. A home visitor will see each family once a month. Trudy explains a typical home visit: "I sit on the floor with the child on a blanket beside me with age appropriate toys and books. I encourage the parents to join me on the floor, and they usually do." April is one parent who enjoys home visits. "I have learned how to teach my child through playing with her," she said. The type of activity shared will depend on the age of the child. A game of peek-a-boo would be played with a six-month old while coloring with crayons is an appropriate activity for a 19-month old child. Books are always shared at the end of a visit and are an important part of the program. "The idea is to get children used to books, to enjoy them and show parents that books are an excellent interactive tool," Trudy commented. In addition to playing with the child, Trudy and other PAT educators share with parents the curriculum information and give them hand-outs on the topics discussed.

Families are encouraged to attend monthly group sessions, which are the second component of PAT. Adjor and Alonzo are parents who regularly attend group. Adjor enjoys the group because she "likes meeting new people." Group sessions provide parents with the opportunity to talk to other parents, and give extra support many families feel they need. The PAT program has taught Adjor much about herself as a parent. " I now realize that I don't know everything, and I have learned a lot more about child growth and development." In addition, Adjor said that PAT is a "good resource to get questions answered."
We are very proud of the success of the families in PAT and are happy to offer this additional service to Supporting First Time Parents participants.