Peer-reviewed article
Play Nicely Program in the prevention of violence against children: strengthening sustainable development
Janaína Recanello Begui, Andressa Larissa Dias Müller de Souza, Naiara Barros Polita, Maria de Fátima Garcia Lopes Merino, Adriana Valongo Zani et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study explored how teachers and health professionals in Brazil perceived the Play Nicely Program, which trains parents and caregivers to prevent violence against children. Twenty educators and health workers who delivered the program were interviewed in focus groups. The program was seen as innovative, easy to understand, and practical for parents to use. Participants felt it helped change how adults think about discipline and improved their understanding of child development.
Key points
- The Play Nicely Program was perceived as innovative, easily accessible, and clear in language by implementing professionals
- The program helped reframe adult attitudes from austerity and impatience toward children to more positive approaches
- Participants identified a key challenge: distinguishing between disciplining children appropriately versus punishing them
- The program fostered positive attitudes toward developing supportive systems to prevent violence against children
- Implementation was seen as practical and applicable to real-world parenting contexts
Limitations
This study captures only the perceptions of teachers and health professionals who implemented the program, not the actual outcomes for children or parents who participated. The study does not measure changes in parental behavior, child safety, or violence prevention outcomes.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: to understand the perception of teachers and health professionals regarding the use of the Play Nicely Program for parents/caregivers in the prevention of violence against children. METHOD: a descriptive and exploratory qualitative study was conducted through three focus groups with twenty primary school teachers and primary health care professionals who implemented the Program for parents/caregivers in 2022. The data analysis was guided by French discourse analysis, interpreted through the lens of Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory. RESULTS: three categories emerged from the participants' perceptions: innovation and utility; theory applicability in practice; reinterpreting attitudes of austerity and impatience towards children; disciplining rather than punishing children: dilemmas and challenges. The testimonies highlighted that the Program is innovative, easily accessible, clear in language, and easy to apply in practice for parents/caregivers. CONCLUSION: the use of the Program added knowledge and fostered positive attitudes toward the development of the bioecological system in addressing and preventing violence against children.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
Problem
Violence against children
- Intervention
- Play Nicely Program for parents and caregivers, delivered by trained teachers and health professionals
- Population
- Parents and caregivers reached through primary schools and primary health care services in Brazil
Key finding
Program perceived as innovative, accessible, and clear in language