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.

kancel@siu.edu