How One Parenting Program Is Helping Dads Be Effective Parents While Boosting Kids' Reading & Behavior

Most parenting programs are usually centered on helping moms and dads figure out and fix what's wrong with their methods and technics in child-rearing. The general perception, however, is that dads aren't likely willing to participate in these activities compared to moms.

Experts based at New York University might have come up with a good solution to address this perception when they developed a parenting program called Fathers Supporting Success in Preschoolers. It involved having fathers read books to their kids, which researchers also found to have positive effects in the children's reading comprehension and behavior.

Experts enlisted 126 low-income and minority dads with their preschool children for the parenting program that required them to complete eight 90-miunite reading sessions. Dads were also made to watch videos of fathers and children reading together to identify different approaches on engagement and not parenting methods or techniques per se. The fathers were also encouraged to continue with the activity with their kids at home.

Each week, the experts assessed and measured the progress of the fathers and children in the program. Dads reported on fewer behavioral issues while experts noted that they used more praise and positive parenting methods when dealing with their kids.

Researchers also saw a 30 percent improvement in the children's school readiness. Attendance to the weekly sessions was also high at 79 percent, which doesn't happen often with other parenting classes. The program's results were published in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology.

So why did this parenting program work with dads? According to lead author Anil Chacko, it's because the sessions weren't about correcting parenting methods. "Fathers in this program were not recruited to work on parenting or reduce child behavior problems, but to learn -- with other fathers -- skills to support their children's school readiness," Chacko said, according to the NYU press release.

What this study highlight is the need for parenting programs or classes to carefully evaluate the needs of their participants, especially dads. Chacko suggested that skill development might be more interesting to fathers than correcting parenting problems.