Tender Shoots: Effects of a preschool shared reading and reminiscing initiative on parent-child interactions and for socio-emotional and self-regulation outcomes after school entry

For parents of preschoolers, parent education typically aims to support children's transition to school. A module of the Tender Shoots parent-mediated preventive intervention called Rich Reading and Reminiscing (RRR) encourages elaborative parent-child interactions during shared reading and reminiscing. One year after participation in a preschool randomized controlled trial, RRR was compared as part of an RCT to another shared reading module focusing on phonological awareness (Strengthening Sound Sensitivity; SSS) and a non-shared reading activity-based control (ABC) to evaluate benefits after school entry. Parents and children (N = 55) reminisced about a positive and a negative past event. Teachers completed ratings of children's competencies, and children completed a battery of socio-emotional and self-regulation tasks. Compared to the activity-based control, participation in RRR was associated with greater parental evaluative language in the positive event and higher teacher ratings of some socio-emotional measures. Findings highlight specific benefits of RRR one year after implementation, including benefits for starting school. Educational relevance statement: Parents who participated in a preventive intervention, Rich Reading and Reminiscing, with their preschool children displayed higher quality reminiscing conversations with their children one year later compared to parents who participated in other conditions with their preschool children. Children who participated in Rich Reading and Reminiscing as preschoolers received higher ratings of participating and contributing in their classrooms by their primary school teachers compared to children who participated in the other conditions. Findings of benefits for children's engagement as learners in their primary school classrooms add to the educational relevance of the evaluation of preventive interventions with parents of preschool children. Educational implications include recognition of parent-child interactions as early learning contexts for young children, providing opportunities for family engagement efforts that can yield benefits for children as learners in the classroom.