There have been calls for the Minister for Children to adopt an early intervention programme on a broader scale, after its pilot project in Dublin showed significantly improved outcomes for young children’s IQ and behaviour.
According to the Irish Times, the Preparing for Life programme – which was trialled in North Dublin, in areas with low levels of school readiness – intensive mentoring of parents had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the kids’ education, and even their health.
Parents who participated in the pilot project received an intensive course of mentoring from trained professionals, starting from pregnancy and continuing until the children started primary school. The parents also had the option to participate in a parenting course.
The project results revealed that, by age four, those children who participated in the study actually showed higher IQ and scores – 10 points higher than those in the control group.
Meanwhile, just 13% of these children scored below average for cognitive development by the same age, compared to 57% in the control group.
Interestingly, the programme also had a positive impact on the children’s health and diet, with subjects found to be immunised earlier and more likely to get their recommended dietary allowance of protein by the end of the pilot.
Lead researcher for the project, Dr Orla Doyle, highlighted the significance of the findings.
“The results show that developing the skills and knowledge of parents is a particularly effective and impactful approach to changing and improving outcomes for children,” she said.
Since the release of the results, there have been calls for Minister for Children Katherine Zappone to roll the intervention programme out in other communities facing similar educational and lifestyle setbacks.
For a full breakdown of the report, check out www.preparingforlife.ie
