Parenting programmes have been identified as an important strategy for preventing violence against children but there is a lack of programmes developed specifically for low-resource contexts. The Parenting for Lifelong Health programme was developed to fill this gap. It is a low cost 12-session programme that is designed to increase positive parenting, as well as to reduce harsh parenting and conduct problems in children aged 2-9.
The programme was tested in Cape Town, South Africa, under the name Sinovuyo Caring Families programme in a pilot randomised control trial (RCT) which suggested that although it had promise, some revisions might strengthen its impact and feasibility. This was done through the refining of the programme’s content on positive reinforcement and discipline as well as some additional training for the facilitators. A larger RCT followed, the results of which have been published in an article in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2019).
The programme showed promise for improving parenting behaviours and reducing child behaviour problems.
The trial was funded by Ilifa Labantwana, the European Research Council, the John Fell and Clarendon Funds, Rand Merchant Bank Fund, and the ApexHi Charitable Trust.
Read the article here.
