Benefits of PAT

North Carolina PAT

NC PAT
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Why do we need Parents as Teachers?
Recent neuroscience research on brain development demonstrates how early experiences shape the way children learn, think, and behave for the rest of their lives. Parents play a critical role in providing these important experiences.

How does PAT help parents?
PAT focuses on the early years, prenatal through kindergarten entry, to help parents understand what to expect during each stage of their child's development. PAT-certified parent educators offer parents practical ways to encourage learning, manage challenging behavior, and promote strong parent-child relationships.

How does PAT help children?
In their beginning years, children learn more at a much faster pace than at any other time in their life. Through PAT, parents acquire the skills to help make the most of these crucial early-learning years. Later schooling cannot fully compensate for lack of intellectual stimulation and emotional nurturing in the early years. Investing in good beginnings for children can pay long-term dividends for families, schools, and society.

How does PAT benefit your community?
When Parents as Teachers is implemented in a community, everyone benefits. Through the program, parents become familiar with their community resources and develop good relationships with them from the beginning. PAT positively impacts a community through:

• children who experience personal and academic success,
• parents who increase their confidence in their parenting skills,
• school districts that develop good relationships with parents and enroll children who are ready for school, and
• government and civic leaders who invest in a cost-efficient child development program.

What do evaluation studies show us about PAT?
Since its inception, PAT has been carefully evaluated. Significant findings attest to its benefits. Independent research studies have shown:

• children who participate in PAT are significantly advanced over their peers at age three in language development, probelm-solving and social skills,
• early gains carry over into the elementary years,
• parent knowledge of child development increases significantly for all types of families,
• parents are significantly more involved in their child's schooling.

In North Carolina, Rutherford County conducted a five-evaluation of PAT's effectiveness. Results analyzed in 1996 indicated that the children involved in the Parents as Teachers program "clearly displayed greater development and educational gains" than did those in two comparison groups.

For more information on findings of independent evaluation studies visit the PAT National Center web site.