Last month, the RAPID Project, a national early childhood and family well-being survey that launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, released a report that detailed how parents feel about their children’s development and overall progress. The report reveals that when assessing how their children are doing, parents most value subjective metrics and kids’ behavior in daily activities like eating, sleeping, and interacting with their peers.
It comes as no surprise that parents are deeply invested in the social-emotional health of their children, using metrics like eating patterns and curiosity to gauge how they are doing. While the report notes that parents have wide-ranging aspirations for their children, the majority of respondents were focused most intently on their children’s safety, health, and well-being. For example, one parent responded, “My child is thriving because she is happy, kind, and plays well. She loves books, has an abundant vocabulary, and can safely tell me how she feels.”
As the report reminds us, families know their children best. Their hopes are centered not only on academic skills, but on social-emotional skills and qualities. Some respondents linked these soft skills directly to their children’s child care providers or educators. For instance, one parent said, “we love the preschool we send our 4-year-old daughter to, as it fulfills the need of childcare and continues our efforts of teaching kindness and respect.” The responses shared by parents in the report are evidence that they value educational environments that provide guidance beyond academic expectations.
The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) is currently in the process of crafting quality standards for preschool services, which was required by the bill that authorized Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program, HB22-1295. CDEC will be seeking feedback from stakeholders in the coming months. This report is a reminder that it is vital for this process to center the voices of families and to include the development of social-emotional standards that address how children are feeling and behaving, not just their academic performance.
Reach out to our Director of Early Childhood Initiatives, Melissa Mares, at melissa@coloradokids.org or our Early Childhood Policy Analyst, Lauren Corboy, at laurenc@coloradokids.org to learn more about how to support the creation of preschool quality standards.
