The Home learning environment. Part 2: effectiveness of interventions and applicability to the Italian context

Key words: Home learning environment, Child development, Parenting programmes

Stemming from the analysis of a successful large scale parenting programme carried out in Chile (Nadie es Perfecto/Nobody is perfect) within the public health system, the article offers an overview of the main features of parenting programmes carried out globally and of the findings of systematic reviews of studies assessing the effects of such programmes. Effectiveness on child and parental outcomes has been shown for relatively simple and lowcost interventions, provided that quality requisites are met. Success factors for parenting programmes have been identified in: the active involvement of families, including in developmental focused activities carried out with their children; highly professional staff; early onset of interventions, during the first year of life and even earlier in the prenatal period; concentration of parenting sessions in a relatively short period of time; inter-sector collaboration. In Italy, based on global evidence and on experiences carried out so far, programmes and interventions to support parental skills can be further developed and implemented starting from the health, education or social sectors, with priority for low-income communities and through broad community involvement.