Effects of Activities in Promoting Child-Caregiver Interactions and Teaching Children Safety from Strangers on Child Rearing Behavior and Indiscriminately Friendly Behavior: A Case Study of Institutional Care for Children

Abstract

This mixed methods study examined indiscriminately friendly behavior and child-rearing behavior of caregivers by comparing the results before and after the activities of promoting child-caregiver interactions and teaching children safety from strangers. Purposive sample consisted of 2 caregivers caring for children 3-4 years old and 9 children aged 3-4 years old from Baan Thantawan Children's Foundation, Nakhon Pathom Province. The program consisted of two activities. Part 1: a two-day caregiver training to promote a good attitude by raising awareness, providing knowledge, and practicing skills in bonding and interacting with children. After that, part 2: caregivers practiced taking care of the children and activities with children which composed of 3 steps included, firstly, taking care of children every day based on building love and bonding, secondly, practicing 16 activities to teach children about strangers twice a week for 2 months, thirdly, connecting what children had learned into everyday experience. Data were collected by using the caregiver’s child-rearing behavior observation form, indiscriminately friendly behavior observation form, observations, and interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric statistics as for the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis.

            The results from the quantitative method revealed that after the experiment, the caregivers had higher mean scores on parenting behaviors than before (M.D. = 7.15, SD = 3.49), and mean scores on indiscriminately friendly behavior was decreased significantly (X = 9.44, SD = 5.20, p < 0.05)

            This research will be useful to superintendents, caregivers, and children under institutional care for children to be used as a guideline to promote interactions in parenting children based on love and attachment and to teach children about safety from strangers.