The Mommy and Me Play Program: A Pilot Play Intervention for Low-Income, African American Preschool Families

Abstract

In this study the author examined the effects of a dyadic, mother-paired play intervention—The Mommy and Me Play Program—an innovative intervention program designed using a live-action modeling technique in which mothers serve as “natural helpers” to each other. By identifying natural strengths in mothers and employing opportunities for scaffolded learning, this intervention aimed to enhance mother–child play interactions and children's social and emotional competence. Fifty mother–child dyads from a single, low-income, African American, urban community were assessed in this study on measures of mother–child play interactions and children's social and emotional competency. Results from this pilot were not statistically significant, but provide important information regarding future research with this intervention program. These preliminary findings indicated that mothers with fewer play skills pre-intervention demonstrated improvement in their play skills post-intervention beyond other intervention participants; and children of those same mothers showed the greatest decrease in angry and aggressive behaviors in the classroom when compared to other participating children from pre- to post-intervention. Implications for research and practice in community-based, intervention work with low-income, ethnic-minority families are discussed.