Back to List of Evaluation & Outcome Articles How
Growing Great Kids Impacts Outcomes for Families and Staff
 A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report concluded that
early childhood programs and government policies need to promote emotional
and social development. (Scholastic Parent and Child, Feb/March 2001)
They found that success in school is based primarily in a child’s
social and emotional readiness to learn and recommend that rather than
focusing solely on academic skills, early childhood programs would
better prepare children for academic achievement by:
- Fostering strong relationships that enhance
confidence and independence
- Providing opportunities that stimulate curiosity
- Modeling and promoting self-control (self-regulation)
- Encouraging empathy and cooperation
They have concluded that important indicators for Kindergarten school
readiness are being friendly, attentive and curious.
Early childhood programs using the Growing
Great Kids Curriculum, with
its strong emphasis on both social-emotional development and literacy,
can expect the above outcomes, in addition to the following:
Parents will demonstrate:
- Increased empathy for their children
- Regular use of effective problem solving skills
-
A greater understanding of their child’s development
and needs
- Interactions with their children that support healthy growth
and development and success
in school
- Regular use of common household items to stimulate curiosity
and creativity with their
children
- More positive feelings about parenting
- Less maternal depression
- A focus on integrating their cultural and family values into
nurturing parenting practices
- Better use of age appropriate, non-violent methods of discipline
- Healthier alternatives for coping with stress
- Increased use of techniques for supporting language and literacy
- Improved language comprehension, communication and reading
skills
Children will demonstrate:
- Feeling secure, valued and capable
- Language comprehension and age appropriate expression
- Compassion for other children
- A curiosity for learning
- Positive responses to limit setting and discipline
- Age appropriate self-regulation skills
- Basic self care skills
-
Ability to follow teacher’s directions
- Cooperative interactions with peers
Staff will demonstrate:
- Increased feelings of confidence and competence in their
work
- A better defined sense of direction for their work
- Increased time during home visits focused on enhancing the
parent child
relationship
- More time during home visits focusing on building parenting
skills
- Increased focus on their own skill development through individual
competency
development plans
- Greater job satisfaction
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