In a recent study of an initiative called Parents as Teachers, released in the March issue of Journal of Primary Prevention confirms that enabling parents during the first four years of a child’s life measurably improves school readiness.
[A]ccording to the researchers, kindergarten readiness is the most important significant predictor of third-grade achievement and far outweighs other demographic variables such as age, gender, poverty and minority status in predicting subsequent third-grade performance. (PR Newswire)
Researcher Dr. Edward Ziegler of the Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University states:
“Brain development research shows you get the biggest payoff the earlier you start. The first nine months are the most critical. By starting at birth, Parents as Teachers starts at just the right time…” (ibid)
Tumblon shares Parents as Teachers’ conviction that parents are the key players in education, and that the first five years of life are the most important time to shape school readiness. That conviction has driven our content selection and site design – in order to equip parents to engage their children appropriately from birth.
The Journal of Primary Prevention research reinforces tumblon’s position that equipping parents is critical, regardless of the socio-economic or educational level of parents:
The study also refutes views that such services should be limited to high-poverty children, by showing that school readiness scores of non-poverty children were also enhanced through Parents as Teachers participation. (ibid)
So, our hats are off to Parents as Teachers for their excellent work, and we hope to join them in making a significant contribution to the parents, families and schools – not just in the United States, but around the world.
