Piloting a Tier 1 Strength-Based Parent Education Play Program: Promoting Play Within the Family Context

IMPORTANCE: Strength-based interventions can be an effective tool in promoting parental well-being in acting as change agents in their child's early development. Play is central to early childhood and skill development. However, research rarely examines play-based interventions specifically addressing parent and child play. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of a Tier 1 strength-based play program on parents' ability to support their child's play and build parental sense of competence. DESIGN: A pilot, mixed-methods group, pre-post study. SETTING: Virtual. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-six parents were recruited through convenience sampling methods, and 12 were assigned to either an intervention group delivered online or a control waitlist group. INTERVENTION: Tier 1 Promoting Family Resilience program. OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Parents completed a demographic questionnaire, the Parent/Caregiver's View of Supporting Children's Play and Playfulness, and the Parenting Sense of Competence Revised Scale. Open-ended pre- and postprogram questions were used to examine parents' expectations and gains. RESULTS: For parents' sense of competence, no significant differences were found between the two groups. However, a trend for significance was found for parents' perception of their ability to support the child's play, U = 6.00, p = .05. Parents in the experimental group reported a decrease in self-efficacy, Z = .00, p < .05. Parents' expectations aligned with the postprogram responses emphasizing capacity building. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among the Tier 1 program benefits are capacity building and increased support for play. Limitations include a small sample size and difficulty retaining participants. Results highlight the potential of Tier 1 strength-based programs to support parents in promoting their children's development through play education. Plain-Language Summary: Play is central to early childhood and skill development. Strength-based interventions can be an effective tool in promoting parental well-being and their child's early development, especially if they focus on play. This pilot study assessed the effectiveness of a strength-based play program on parents' ability to support their child's play and build parental sense of competence. Twelve eligible parents agreed to participate in this study and were assigned to either an intervention group delivered online or a control waitlist group. We did not find differences between study groups in the parents' sense of competence, but parents who attended the strength-based program reported an increase in their ability to support their child's play. Parents also felt that the program met their expectations and supported capacity building. Parents benefited from the provision of educational tools to support their child's development through play as well as ways to reduce parental stress.