"The use of the PICCOLO has been an exciting step in our Early Head Start Home Based Program . . . Parents report that they have become more engaged with their children and have learned the importance of affection, teaching, responsiveness, and encouragement and the impact that positive interactions have on a child's development."--Jennifer Cahill"and Parents/Family Support Specialists of MHCC Early Head Start Home Based Program" (05/29/2013) "Weaves together a structure for grounded observations that suggest concrete ways to support positive parenting behaviors that are the foundation of who the child becomes. The PICCOLO captures the sweet sounds that are the essence of parenting."--Linda Wollesen"Director, Life Skill Outcomes, LLC" (06/03/2013) "Allows the clinician to hone in on a parent and child's strengths and areas of need . . . truly serves to strengthen the therapeutic relationship and make families feel safe, so that positive change and growth can occur."--Natalia Barna, LMSW, IMH-E (III)"Infant Mental Health Therapist & Baby Power Facilitator, Lifespan Clinical Services" (06/03/2013) "A tool that is useful not only for observation, but also a wonderful way to engage parents that encourages their confidence and competence as parents."--David Belford"MSW, Program Planning Manager, University of New Mexico Center for Development & Disability" (06/03/2013) "Fills a critical need for an easy-to-administer and easy-to-score measure of parenting that requires minimal training to administer. It is invaluable for all early childhood programs that aim to improve the parent-child relationship."--Rachel Chazan Cohen, Ph.D."Associate Professor, George Mason University" (06/03/2013) "Will help practitioners to strengthen their observation skills so as to empower parents who may not understand how important they are in the day-to-day lives of their children."--Michaela B. Wooldridge, M.A."Clinical Supervisor, Sources Infant Development Programme" (06/03/2013) "PICCOLO is the tool we have needed in our programs serving parents and young children . . . helps us stay on course with the family as we are supporting them in strengthening interactions with their child."--Talley Dunn"Early Head Start Manager, Southern Oregon Early Head Start" (06/04/2013) "As users of the PICCOLO for the past seven years, we have come to rely on its effectiveness in offering our parents a way to view and evaluate their parenting techniques."--Moira Rampton"In-Home Program Coordinator, Guadalupe School" (06/04/2013) a Allows the clinician to hone in on a parent and childa s strengths and areas of need . . . truly serves to strengthen the therapeutic relationship and make families feel safe, so that positive change and growth can occur.a --Natalia Barna, LMSW, IMH-E (III)" a The use of the PICCOLO has been an exciting step in our Early Head Start Home Based Program . . . Parents report that they have become more engaged with their children and have learned the importance of affection, teaching, responsiveness, and encouragement and the impact that positive interactions have on a child's development.a --Jennifer Cahill" a oeThe use of the PICCOLO has been an exciting step in our Early Head Start Home Based Program . . . Parents report that they have become more engaged with their children and have learned the importance of affection, teaching, responsiveness, and encouragement and the impact that positive interactions have on a child's development.a --Jennifer Cahill

Where are parents' skills the strongest - and how can they be encouraged to better support young children's cognitive, social, and language development? Home visitors can find out in minutes with PICCOLO trade; the quick, reliable observational tool designed to assess and monitor the quality of parent-child interactions. Developed for use with parents of children ages 1 to 3, PICCOLO measures 29 developmentally supportive parenting behaviors in 4 critical domains - Affection, Responsiveness, Encouragement, and Teaching. It's the best way to assess which parenting behaviors are working, develop individualized interventions that help parents improve, and track the positive outcomes of your parent support program.This User's Guide gives readers explicit guidance on using the PICCOLO, including a Frequently Asked Questions section. A discussion about the tool's development and psychometric properties section are also included. The appendix includes a photocopiable Spanish translation of the PICCOLO and the scoring key for the video clips on the PICCOLO DVD.