Supporting Head Start parents: impact of a text message intervention on parent–child activity engagement

Abstract

Head Start emphasises parent engagement as a critical strategy in promoting children's long-term learning. Parents can support children's positive development by engaging them in stimulating activities. The following study assessed whether a service that delivered parenting tips via text message could prompt parents of children enrolled in Head Start programmes to engage in more learning activities with their children. Two hundred and fifty-six parents participated in the study with approximately half receiving text messages for six weeks. All participants completed a questionnaire about the types of learning activities in which they engaged their children. Parents who received the service engaged in more learning activities; this was particularly true of fathers and parents of boys. Parents reported high rates of satisfaction with service. These results suggest that text-based interventions as a supplement to other forms of family engagement may successfully communicate parenting information and support parental engagement with young children.

Keywords:

• activities
• early childhood
• intervention
• Head Start
• parenting
• text messaging

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Terri J. Sobol and Lillian Yi for their input and guidance during the preparation of the questionnaire for this study, Courtney K. Blackwell, Drew P. Cingel, and Lillian Yi for their assistance with data collection, and Sabrina L. Connell and Ariel Maschke for their data entry.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Lisa B. Hurwitz is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern University.

Alexis R. Lauricella is Associate Director at the Centre on Media and Human Development at Northwestern University. She is currently a Lecturer in the Communication Studies and Adjunct Professor in the Human Development and Social Policy departments at Northwestern.

Ann Hanson is the Senior Manager of Research and Policy Initiatives at the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago, IL, USA.

Anthony Raden is the Senior Vice Present of Research and Policy Initiatives at the Ounce of Prevention Fund in Chicago, IL, USA.

Ellen Wartella is the Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor of Communication, Professor of Psychology and Professor of Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern University. She also directs the university's Centre on Media and Human Development.