Parent stories of HIPPY: The role of a school readiness program for newcomer families in supporting parent-child relationships

The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters program (HIPPY) is a school readiness program for parents with preschool-aged children. This study examines Multicultural HIPPY, a branch of HIPPY in Canada that supports newcomer families. Research on HIPPY has focused mainly on the impact of HIPPY on children's school achievement. This study fills a gap in the literature by exploring parents' experiences of parent-child bonding in HIPPY. Ten mothers from across Canada were interviewed about their experiences in the program. Across all interviews, mothers described a sense of increased parent-child closeness through participating in HIPPY. This occurred through several pathways: increased parent-child quality time, warm and responsive parent-child interaction, positive shared experiences between parent and child, and reduced parent stress. These findings reveal that Multicultural HIPPY not only supports newcomer families through improved school readiness and community connections, but through building stronger family ties.