PARENT-CHILD MOTHER GOOSE PROGRAM RESEARCH: Results from focus groups and questionnaires

by Natasha Weber
June 26, 2018
In a collaboration between Fort Saskatchewan Families First Society and the Human Ecology Department at the University of Alberta, research was conducted to examine the impact the Parent-Child Mother Goose program has on parent-child relationships.
Results from this study and others strongly suggest that PCMG does and will continue to support parents and families raising young children by promoting positive parent-child relationships, increasing parent’s confidence and emotion regulation skills and developing social support systems for parents.

Exploring the Impacts of the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program

by Natasha Weber, University of Alberta
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Family Ecology and Practice, 2017.
The quantitative results of this study indicated that the program seems to increase parents’ sense of competence, self-efficacy and satisfaction in parenting. Qualitative data indicated that the program may influence secure attachment in the child and emotion regulation for the parent. The study concluded that the PCMG program facilitates learning that promotes positive parent-child relationships, increase parent’s confidence and emotion regulation skills, and develop social support systems for parents.

Benefits of Mother Goose: Influence of a Community-Based Program on Parent-Child Attachment Relationships in Typical Families

by Elaine Scharfe, Trent University
Child Welfare Journal, 2011, vol. 90, No. 5.
In this study of the effects of the Parent-Child Mother Goose program on parent-child attachment, parents participating in the program completed self-assessments of their parenting efficacy, satisfaction, and relationships with their children.  Participants reported significantly more positive change in parenting efficacy and child attachment than did parents in a control group. “In this popular 10-week, community-based program, parents learned skills that continued to influence their relationship with their children six months after the conclusion of the project.” Read the study…

A Preliminary Evaluation of the Parent-Child Mother Goose Program in relation to Children’s Language and Parenting Stress

Gill Terrett, Roxanne White and Michèle Spreckley
Journal of Early Childhood Research published online 12 October 2012
This study assessed changes in children’s language skills and parenting stress following participation in a Parent-Child Mother Goose program. Results revealed that the PCMGP children showed greater improvement in language skills, especially their expressive communication skills. The parents participating also reported a more positive impact on their perceptions of their child’s demandingness compared to the comparison playgroup parents. This study highlights the potential effectiveness of the PCMGP as an early intervention program in relation to aspects of both receptive and expressive language and parental stress. Read the study

What Does Research Tell Us?

This summary is based on work done by Anjula Joshi, Ph.D. Student, UBC, 2006. It was compiled by Beth Hutchinson, Provincial Co-ordinator, Parent-Child Mother Goose Program®, BC Council for Families and Dana Brynelsen, Past President, Parent-Child Mother Goose Program® National Board and Provincial Advisor, Infant Development Programmes of BC. Read the Research Summary…

Impact of Parent-Child Mother Goose : mothers’ perceptions and experiences of singing to their infants aged 6-28 months

Deborah Weiss, University of Victoria, Master’s Thesis, 2006
This study explores mothers’ perceptions and experiences of singing to their infants and participating in Parent-Child Mother Goose; a community-based parent support program that  supports the use of infant-directed singing as a means to enhance the mother-infant relationship. Mothers in the study completed self-administered questionnaires relating to singing to their infants and completed interviews with the researcher. The data revealed a number of interrelated themes including: 1) experiencing bonding/connection with one’s infant. 2) infant-directed singing as a means to regulate infant and maternal emotions and. 3) infant-directed singing as a means to communicate information to one’s infant. The mothers also experienced benefits participating in Parent-Child Mother Goose. Read the study …