<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a trick question: what\u2019s the biggest influence on a child\u2019s readiness for school? Preschool education, replies a confident chorus of policy wonks. But maybe you got the answer right: it\u2019s parenting. Research evidence has long established that reading with young children<\/a>, taking them to the library and having books at home are more important predictors of school readiness than preschool education.<\/p>\n Policy makers and practitioners sometimes forget this. Perhaps they despair of changing parenting in a fundamental way. Some imagine that stressed, often poorly educated parents are stuck in a rut, making the same old mistakes as their own mom and dad.<\/p>\n Well, the evidence suggests that these parents have been underestimated. While child development policy in the United States has largely focused on extending access to preschool, low-income parents have been busy transforming their practice. That\u2019s making a real difference to their children\u2019s learning skills and prospects. Intriguingly, they\u2019ve made these strides at a time when income inequality<\/a> has grown worse.<\/p>\n