As rapid urbanization continues to reshape demographic landscapes across China, the developmental wellbeing of migrant children has emerged as a critical public health and educational priority. Recent data highlights that out of 71.09 million migrant children nationwide, approximately 19.55 million are preschool-aged children between zero and five years old. Often lacking formal urban household registration, these children frequently encounter compounded environmental vulnerabilities, including limited access to educational resources, constrained social support networks, and suboptimal home parenting conditions. In response to these pressing systemic challenges, researchers from Nantong University have completed a pioneering pilot randomized controlled trial evaluating a novel video-feedback intervention (VFI) grounded in the SPIRE happiness model. The study, conducted between September and December 2025, offers promising empirical insights into enhancing parent-child dynamics and bolstering psychological resilience among vulnerable urban families. Background and Context of the Intervention Early childhood—typically spanning ages three to six—represents a profoundly formative window for physical, psychological, and social development. High-quality parent-child interactions and emotionally nurturing home environments serve as the foundational bedrock for long-term mental health and academic adaptation. However, migrant families frequently grapple with chronic urban stressors such as precarious employment, demanding work schedules, economic strain, and social isolation. These compounding pressures commonly elevate parental stress, diminish a caregiver’s sense of competence, and inadvertently compromise the quality of daily domestic interactions. Traditional family-based early interventions have predominantly relied on didactic parent education or focused narrowly on observable behavioral modifications. While these methods yield modest improvements, they frequently overlook the broader psychological, emotional, and relational resources necessary for parents to sustain positive practices over time. To bridge this gap, the Nantong University research team integrated traditional video-feedback intervention techniques with the SPIRE happiness model—a holistic psychological framework emphasizing Spiritual, Physical, Intellectual, Relational, and Emotional wellbeing. Rather than merely training parents on communication mechanics, this integrated approach encourages caregivers to cultivate emotional awareness, find deeper meaning in parenting, and strengthen interpersonal bonds within a supportive group framework. Methodology and Chronology of the Trial The pilot study utilized a single-blind, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial design to rigorously assess both implementation feasibility and preliminary outcome metrics. Participant recruitment commenced in September 2025 through partner kindergartens within the Nantong City migrant-child sampling database. Following a rigorous screening process against predetermined eligibility criteria—such as rural household registration, continuous urban residency exceeding six months, and primary caregiver status—32 eligible parents were initially enrolled. After accounting for participant withdrawals due to sudden employment transfers or relocations, a final cohort of 27 participants completed the study. The participants were randomly allocated into two distinct cohorts in a 1:1 ratio: an intervention group consisting of 14 participants and a control group comprising 13 participants. Randomization sequence generation and allocation concealment were strictly managed by independent researchers to eliminate selection bias. Evaluators responsible for scoring video interactions using the Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale (KIPS) and analyzing data remained fully blinded to group assignments throughout the trial duration. The intervention group partook in a structured, six-week VFI program delivered in weekly 90-minute sessions at local kindergarten activity centers. Each session combined group peer exchanges, guided SPIRE-informed reflections, and behavioral rehearsals derived from 15-minute video recordings of standardized parent-child interaction tasks, including free play, toy clean-up, and shared picture-book reading. Conversely, the control group maintained standard daily routines without receiving the study intervention during the active trial period, though they were guaranteed access to identical training materials following the conclusion of all follow-up assessments. Quantitative Findings and Key Data Outcomes The trial evaluated outcomes across three distinct chronological milestones: pre-intervention baseline (T1), immediately post-intervention at six weeks (T2), and at a three-month post-intervention follow-up (T3). The trial achieved a remarkable 100% retention and attendance rate across the active intervention cohort, signaling exceptional feasibility and participant commitment. Questionnaire evaluations revealed an overall program satisfaction rate of 92.9%, with 85.8% of participating parents expressing a strong willingness to continually apply the learned strategies in daily life and partake in similar future programs. Repeated-measures analyses of variance revealed substantial, statistically significant group-by-time interaction effects across primary and secondary outcome domains: Parent-Child Interaction Behaviors: Measured via the KIPS instrument, the intervention group demonstrated dramatic enhancements across building relationships, promoting learning, and supporting confidence. The total interaction score showed a massive effect size (partial $eta_p^2 = 0.529, p < 0.001$), with sustained improvements observed at the three-month follow-up. Family Parenting Environment: Significant positive shifts were recorded across four core subscales—emotional warmth and self-expression, language and cognition, social adaptation and self-management, and environmental atmosphere—yielding a significant overall score improvement ($p < 0.01$). Parenting Sense of Competence and Social Support: Parents in the intervention group reported statistically significant increases in both parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy ($eta_p^2 = 0.307, p < 0.01$). Perceived social support scores similarly climbed, reflecting enhanced perceptions of family, friend, and institutional support systems. Notably, while child emotional and behavioral problem scores—assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)—exhibited a favorable numerical downward trend in the intervention group compared to controls, these differences did not reach statistical significance ($p > 0.05$). Researchers noted that distal child-level outcomes likely require extended observation windows and sustained family environmental modifications before yielding measurable behavioral shifts. Broader Implications and Future Directions The implications of the Nantong University trial extend significantly beyond local urban policy considerations. By successfully merging video-feedback methodology with the holistic SPIRE happiness model, the intervention demonstrates that addressing parental psychological resources and relational wellbeing concurrently with behavioral coaching can yield robust, durable improvements in vulnerable domestic environments. Project lead and corresponding author Chenchen Yang emphasized that while the findings provide encouraging preliminary evidence, the study’s scope was inherently constrained by a relatively small sample size, a single geographic testing site, and a heavy demographic representation of mothers over fathers. Future research initiatives must scale these methodologies through multi-site trials, broaden caregiver demographics to include grandparents and other extended family members, and incorporate extended longitudinal tracking to fully evaluate the long-term developmental trajectories of preschool migrant children. As urban populations continue to evolve, scalable, psychologically grounded support frameworks such as this VFI model offer a vital blueprint for fostering equitable early childhood development and family resilience nationwide. Post navigation Case Report: From somatic pain to shared narrative—mentalization and intergenerational trauma in a transcultural group consultation
