Using the PICCOLO to Identify Strong Parenting Behaviors
Using the Parents As Teachers Curriculum to Reinforce Strengths and Encourage Parents to “Do More”
In recent months, FACE Parent Educators have been trained in the PICCOLO – Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes. This parent-child interaction observation measure helps Parent Educators and parents learn to observe parenting behaviors as parents play with their children. The PICCOLO identifies each parent’s strongest-positive parenting behaviors. When the strongest parenting behavior is identified, the next step for the Parent Educator and the parent is to explore how parents can “do more” of those strong parenting behaviors in their daily routines and in play with their child. There is solid research supporting positive developmental impact on children whose parents learn and use positive parenting behaviors.1,2,3 Positive outcomes include better cognitive, social and language development and fewer behavior problems.
Parent Educators can use information from the PICCOLO to guide their choices of Parent Educator Resources, Parent Handouts and Parent-Child Activities in planning and conducting personal visits. The table below shows the four Parenting Behaviors we observe using the PICCOLO, and how they can be associated with the five Parenting Behaviors we see in the Parents As Teachers (PAT) curriculum.
| PICCOLO Parenting Behavior: AFFECTION PAT Parenting Behavior • Nurturing | PICCOLO Parenting Behavior: RESPONSIVENESS PAT Parenting Behavior • Responsiveness |
| PICCOLO Parenting Behavior: ENCOURAGEMENT PAT Parenting Behaviors • Designing/Guiding • Supporting Learning | PICCOLO Parenting Behavior: TEACHING PAT Parenting Behaviors • Communication • Designing/Guiding • Supporting Learning |
Consider a situation where the PICCOLO shows a parent’s strongest parenting behavior is RESPONSIVENESS. The table below lists suggestions for Parent Educator Resources, Parent Handouts, and Parent-Child Activities from the PAT curriculum that support parent understanding and practice of positive parenting behaviors.
| RESPONSIVENESS – includes parents responding to their child’s emotions and being flexible about their child’s interests during play |
PAT Parent Educator Resources: Responding to Babies and Young Children4 |
PAT Parent Handouts: Noticing and Responding to Cues |
PAT Activity Pages: Play to Learn: Observing and Responding During Floor Time |
Parents As Teachers Technical Assistants can assist Parent Educators to look for additional examples of curriculum materials that may be useful in supporting parenting behaviors during personal visits.
FACE home-based programs will be required to begin using the PICCOLO with all enrolled families starting in Fall 2020. For now, we strongly encourage Parent Educators to use the PICCOLO training DVD(which was distributed at the PICCOLO training at the conference in St. Louis) to practice observing parent-child interactions, scoring the PICCOLO, and locating PAT curriculum materials that support teaching and practicing parenting behaviors.
Citations
1 Roggman, L. A., & Boyce, L. K., & Innocenti, M. S. (2008). Developmental parenting: A guide for early childhood practitioners Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
2 Activity Page: Play to Learn: Observing and Responding During Floor Time (p.1080-1081); Parents As Teachers Foundational Curriculum.
3 Activity Page: Play to Learn: Cheer Up Game p. (p.801-802); Parents As Teachers Foundational 2 Curriculum.
4 Parent Educator Resource: Responding to Babies and Young Children (p. 550-557); Parents As Teachers Foundational Curriculum.
5 Parent Educator Resource: Responding (p. 519-527); Parents As Teachers Foundational 2 Curriculum.
6 Parent Educator Resource: Using Activity Pages Around Social-Emotional Development (p.787-790); Parents As Teachers Foundational Curriculum.
7 Parent Handout: Noticing and Responding to Cues (p.558-559); Parents As Teachers Foundational Curriculum.
8 Parent Handout: Responding to Your Child (p. 528-529); Parents As Teachers Foundational 2 Curriculum.