Learning how children grow and develop makes parenting less stressful and more effective, a Johns Hopkins study found.
A privately funded program placing child development specialists inside pediatric practices continues to reap benefits years after the children and their families stop participating, according to an article in the September 2007 edition of Pediatrics, published Tuesday.
Doing the right things for young children provides better outcomes in the long term,” said Dr. Cynthia Minkovitz, lead author of the study and associate professor with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The Healthy Steps for Young Children Program placed trained developmental specialists in pediatric practices to provide enhanced behavior and development services during the first three years of a child?s life. Healthy Steps services included enhanced well-child care, home visits from developmental specialists, a telephone help line, developmental assessments, educational materials, support groups to aid parents with developmental concerns and access to community resources.
At 5 1/2 years, participating parents reported greater satisfaction with their child?s health care, greater odds of reporting serious behavioral issues to the pediatrician and greater literacy rates, according to the study. Parents also were less likely to use severe discipline such as spanking with an object or slapping in the face.
“Based on what we know, there?s reason to think that if you intervene in the right way at the right time you can have a tremendous positive impact on people?s lives,” said Michael Barth, national program director for the Fairfax, Va.-based Healthy Steps.
The program has since expanded to more than 18 states, not including Maryland, Minkovitz said, though that could change.
Previous research shows intervention in early childhood can result in better overall health and lower health care costs into middle age, she said. Growth of Healthy Steps has largely been fueled by the market.
“Where there is a groundswell of consumer demand, there has been community support from local foundations and health insurers,” Minkovitz said.
