Study to help parents tackle terrible twos and beyond

Hamilton researchers are the first in Canada to study if an American program that helps parents struggling to cope with toddlers and preschoolers would be successful here.

The Offord Centre for Child Studies is recruiting 280 area families to the $1.1-million research called “Making the Race Fair.”

It is testing the Family CheckUp Program to see if early parenting help for those with children aged two to four can make the same long-term difference it has in the United States.

“Research over the past 20 years has shown it to be effective at preventing the start of childhood mental health problems, helping decrease early childhood behaviours and supporting caregiver well-being, including reduced rates of parental stress and depression,” said Dr. Terry Bennett, a child psychiatrist at McMaster Children’s Hospital and lead investigator of the study.

“Over time it has also been shown to enhance school readiness, so kids have been showing signs they are better able to manage their behaviours at school.”

But there are key differences between Canada and the United States, such as education, health care and social safety nets, so it’s impossible to assume a successful program in one place will translate to the other.

“We don’t know if it will have the same effects in Canada,” said Bennett. “We really need to know what are the active ingredients that are essential for certain programs to work . ... We want to be able to show that it’s effective in a Canadian setting.”

It’s significant considering the Offord Centre itself revealed, in a landmark 1983 study, that one in five children in Canada have a mental health challenge.

Families can refer themselves to the study if they are struggling with toddler and preschool behavioural difficulties, such as high frequency tantrums, difficulty regulating emotions, impulsiveness, aggression, acting out or hyperactivity.

“Kids who present with really high levels of behaviour difficulties in the preschool years are at significantly higher risk of having persistent emotional and behavioural problems throughout their childhood and adolescence,” said Bennett. “For the kids who have the biggest problems, these problems start early. We think if we intervene early we’re catching kids at a time when their brains are more malleable.”

The study also accepts parents coping with major stressors like depression or financial difficulty.

“Early positive parenting practice seems to have long lasting effects on child well-being and on how kids form relationships over time,” said Bennett. “Parents have been describing that it’s an important problem for them and they really want to be proactive.”

All families are assessed including recording parenting interactions with the children and half are randomly assigned to the program.

Those not in the program receive a generic listing of community services available to parents.

The other half are assigned a coach who could be from a number of health care professions, such as a clinical psychologist or a social worker. In two or three sessions, the coach gives them feedback on their questionnaires and recordings, helps create goals for parents and children and gives them a list of community services tailored to them. There are also parenting classes that are made available.

“I was given tools on how to parent and it’s really benefited,” said study participant Sonja Baker. “The tantrums are much more infrequent and now I know how to handle them.”

The 39-year-old East Hamilton mom, of three girls aged two to five, volunteered for the study that began in September 2017 and has recruited 80 families so far.

“I just want all the information I can have on how to be a good parent,” she said. “I was having lots of issues and not sure how to handle them. I was not sure if it was something more serious or toddlers acting out.”

She wishes she could continue longer with the program, particularly having a one-on-one coach to provide information and advice.

“I wish I could have her in my pocket all the time,” she says. “She was so comforting and easy to be around. I could ask her anything and she would have a great answer . ... She was just really encouraging.”

The study is currently following families for one year.

“For parents you’re not given anything other than what people tell you or how you are raised,” said Baker. “I think so many people should be doing this.”