During each PlayReadVIP session, families are given a toy and/or book that they get to use during the session and take home. The toys and books that are selected to be included as part of the session are high-quality learning materials and are chosen to match the child's age and developmental level. Additionally, they are specifically selected to promote parent-child engagement in activities likely to support child development. 

Toys
Toys play an important role in the development of babies and toddlers. During this formative period, toys are much more than sources of entertainment; they serve as essential tools for learning and growth. Interactive toys like rattles and soft blocks help develop fine and gross motor skills, while sensory toys with various textures and sounds stimulate cognitive development. As babies explore their environment through play, they also enhance their emotional and social skills, learning to express themselves and interact with others. Creative toys, such as building sets and pretend food, foster imagination and problem-solving abilities. Overall, toys support a well-rounded developmental trajectory, making playtime a valuable learning experience.

Books
​Reading with babies and toddlers from birth offers numerous benefits that lay the foundation for their overall development. Firstly, it enhances their language acquisition by introducing them to a wide range of vocabulary and speech. This early exposure to words and sounds supports building their communication skills. Reading also stimulates cognitive development by encouraging children to think, ask questions, and understand concepts such as numbers, colors, and shapes. Additionally, the bonding time during reading fosters emotional security and strengthens the parent-child relationship. Stories and pictures in books spark imagination and creativity, while also teaching children about the world around them. Lastly, the routine of reading can establish a love for books and learning that benefits children throughout their lives.

We are thrilled to announce that the VIP program that we know and love just got an updated new name: PlayReadVIP

Our work has always celebrated the critical role that parents and caregivers have as their child’s first teacher and most important person: their VIP.  Our new name reflects this and highlights our core approach - to support parents by utilizing the power of Play and the magic of Reading to enhance early relational health, and using video feedback as a tool for championing parents and caregivers as their child’s VIP by reinforcing their unique strengths. PlayReadVIP lays the foundation for strong bonds and a lifetime of learning, and we are so excited for our new name to better reflect what we do!

A new study published in Child Development found that indirect pathways through parental support of cognitive stimulation were statistically significant. That is, PlayReadVIP (combined with home visiting through Family Check-Up [the 'Smart Beginnings' model]) increased preschool children’s language and literacy entirely via increases in cognitively stimulating parent-child interactions. These findings provide additional support for the theory of change of the SB model, which posits that the SB program would positively impact parental support of cognitive stimulation and subsequent improvements in children’s language and literacy. Importantly, these findings also extend previous work by linking increases in positive parenting practices to improvements in children’s school readiness. 

The results of this study indicate the importance of parenting practices as proximal processes for children’s development, and provide strong support for the potential of the SB model to impact children’s language, literacy, and other school readiness outcomes through increases in responsive parenting practices. Gold standard assessments were used to directly assess children, such as the Woodcock Johnson  IV Tests of Achievement Letter-Word Identification test. The present results also build on and complement prior literature examining the specific and important role that early parental language and literacy activities, including reading and teaching, play in the development of children’s early word reading and vocabulary, and particularly for racial/ethnic minority children with low incomes and those who are dual language learners. The current findings also suggest that a tiered parenting intervention focused on support of positive parenting can be particularly effective in enhancing parental support of cognitive stimulation and, subsequently, child cognitive outcomes. This study has implications for the development of parenting interventions that seek to reduce poverty-related disparities in children’s school readiness abilities and shed light on the mechanisms through which such interventions impact development. ​

Early Relational Health (ERH) (parenting practices, relationship quality) is critical for children’s learning and healthy development. Pediatric primary care is a promising platform for promoting ERH due to its capacity to reach many families in a convenient and accessible location and low cost.

PlayReadVIP (formerly Video Interaction Project) is a healthcare-based program that provides real-time video-feedback of parent-child play and reading interactions to families with children aged 0 to 36 months.
The current study tested the minimal effective dose of PlayReadVIP (i.e., fewest number of sessions needed to have an effect) in a real-world setting with 183 families at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull.

Results showed that a single visit was associated with a 22% increase in responsive parenting behaviors (behaviors shown to promote child learning), with cumulative increase of 37% following a second visit. These findings support offering PlayReadVIP widely, regardless of whether families can attend multiple visits.

​To learn more, visit: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38040989/

Piccolo, L. R., Roby, E., Canfield, C. F., Seery, A. M., Weisleder, A., Cates, C. B., Tutasig, L., Matalon, M., Custode, A., Rodriguez, L., & Mendelsohn, A. L. (2023). Supporting responsive parenting in real-world implementation: minimal effective dose of the Video Interaction Project. Pediatric research, 10.1038/s41390-023-02916-4.

​We have new findings to share on the impact of the Video Interaction Project!

In a recent study, we demonstrated strong evidence that Smart Beginnings boosts parents’ support of their child’s early learning across infancy and the toddler years. This research was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Smart Beginnings is a unique parenting program that combines the universal delivery of the Video Interaction Project (VIP) at routine pediatric well-child visits with a second home visiting program called the Family Check Up (FCU), which is provided to families who face particular stressors. In VIP, parents are videotaped with their children for three to five minutes as they play or read with a new book or toy, with immediate feedback from a coach, who provides feedback and reinforces positive parenting behaviors. Parents take home the book or toy, video, and a plan for how to engage their child in reading and play at home. In FCU, parents meet with a social worker in the home to address family management issues or children’s challenging behaviors. Guidance is aligned with family strengths and goals. The social worker also connects parents with additional resources.
 
Families in New York City and Pittsburgh were randomly assigned to Smart Beginnings or a control group at birth and followed across the first two years.
 
Results showed that across time points during both infancy (6 months) and the toddler years (18 and 24 months) parents enrolled in Smart Beginnings had significantly higher scores on broad survey and observational measures of cognitive development and the home environment compared with parents in the control group. This included engaging children in activities such as reading, talking, and playing, and having higher levels of language quantity and quality.
 
These findings suggest that participation in VIP and FCU has robust impacts on a wide range of positive parenting behaviors that persist across time for children of different ages. Results provide additional support for the effectiveness of the Smart Beginnings model in supporting parents during their children’s first years of life.
 
To read the full article visit: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022347622010241

This randomized controlled trial (RCT) assessed the impact of a parent-child reading program called Universidade do Bebê (UBB), on parenting and child cognitive-linguistic and socioemotional outcomes. UBB was developed by Dr. Alan Mendelsohn and his team in collaboration with researchers at Instituto Alfa e Beto in Brazil. It consisted of monthly 1-hour workshops focusing on parent-child reading complemented by a book-lending library. The workshops’ curricula included videos and ‘live’ demonstrations of parents reading together, discussion of the importance of parent-child book reading, and strategies for reading aloud with children.

UBB was previously studied in Boa Vista, RO, northern Brazil, with families with children ages 24-48 months, and has shown effects on parenting and child outcomes. In a new study in Arcoverde, PE, northeast Brazil, we sought to determine whether similar results would be found when UBB was provided beginning in pregnancy through early toddlerhood. 400 women, either pregnant or with small children 0–24 months, completed surveys about beliefs about early reading, parenting, reading and playing routines at home, and child development at baseline and again after approximately 11 months, when the program was interrupted due to COVID-19 restrictions. From August 2019 through March 2020, half of these families participated in UBB.

Results from the 11-month follow-up in April 2020 were first published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (JDBP). Compared to the families in the control group (who did not receive the intervention), parent-child dyads who participated in UBB showed increased cognitive stimulation and awareness about the importance of early reading than controls, with no differences by parent literacy level and similar findings for women who were pregnant and families with children 0 to 24 months at enrollment.

Findings from a second follow-up assessment in October 2020 were published in Nature Pediatric Research and demonstrated sustained impacts of UBB on parenting and parent-child reading 6 months into the pandemic. Remarkably, for families who did not participate in UBB increased COVID-19-related distress was significantly associated with reduced positive parenting and parent-child reading 6 months into the pandemic in, however such negative associations were buffered for the UBB group.
Together, findings from both studies indicate that promotion of cognitive stimulation in the home through parent-child reading may be a critical strategy to improve early relational health and child development among vulnerable families, with potential for buffering pandemic-related distress and preventing delays in early child development.

Citations:

• Piccolo LR, Batista Araujo Oliveira J, Hirata G, Duarte Neto W, Mendelsohn AL. Supporting Reading Aloud Beginning Prenatally and in Early Infancy: A Randomized Trial in Brazil. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2022 Dec 1;43(9):e590-e597

• Piccolo, L.R., Oliveira, J.B.A., Hirata, G., Canfield, C., Roby, E., Mendelsohn, A.L. Pre-pandemic support for shared reading buffers adverse parenting impacts: an RCT in Brazil. Pediatr Res. 2022

Families participating in UBB