In general, limited information has been collected about parental response during and following participation in these programs. The paper will argue that we need to know more about the mediating effects of parental response to programs to help explain benefits that flow to children. We also need to know more about the community links of families and how these are affected, positively or negatively, by participation in such programs. An argument is made for parental involvement and input from the beginning of programs so that they are more closely matched to needs. A successful example of designing information for parents about parenting and child development is seen in the Wellness Guide developed by the University of California, Berkeley.
Parents play a key role in children's development.
The way that they care for their children, teach them skills and values, and guide them in their encounters with the world outside the home lays the foundation for children's later emotional, social and intellectual development. Most parents undertake the job of parenting with little preparation except their own experiences as a child. Even for parents fortunate enough to have had a nurturing upbringing, this previous learning may be insufficient if they are living isolated from family or a network of friends who can assist with advice and support. For new parents who came from a home where they were neglected or abused or if they have experienced institutional rather than family care, new information and guidelines are needed to establish a different way of parenting their children from that observed and experienced as a child. New parents, except perhaps those who have worked in a closely allied area such as nursing or early childhood education, need a lot of information and advice about their child's development and appropriate parenting responses to the rapid changes in development over the child's first few years of life.